Pubdate: Wed, 04 Dec 2002 Source: Spokesman-Review (WA) Copyright: 2002 The Spokesman-Review Contact: http://www.spokesmanreview.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/417 Author: Adam Lynn Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) COUNTY WANTS QUICK JUSTICE FOR METH CASES Task Force Would Prevent Cases Clogging Court System Spokane County officials fed up with the methamphetamine industry and its ugly offshoots want to attack the problem at its source: manufacturers and distributors of the highly addictive drug. An anti-meth task force would concentrate on pushing felony meth-related cases through the criminal justice system, placing a special emphasis on cooks and dealers. If approved by commissioners, the two-year project would begin in February. The idea is to ensure people arrested for cooking meth are prosecuted as quickly as possible and sent to state prison if convicted, said County Commissioner Phil Harris, who conceived the idea. Currently, prosecutors have a backlog of hundreds of meth cases. Quick justice would reduce the amount of meth on the street and might decrease the number of meth-related crimes committed in the region -- like vehicle prowlings, burglaries and robberies, Harris said. That, in turn, would reduce the social costs the public is forced to pay to repair families torn apart by drugs, he said. "I think we'll save a lot of money in the long run," the commissioner said. Harris said Tuesday he came up with the idea after hearing reports from sheriff's deputies of finding children during raids of homes where meth was being made. Sheriff Mark Sterk estimates children are present at 50 percent or more of the meth labs his deputies bust. "When I saw what was happening to our kids, I came unglued," Harris said. "I'm madder than hell at this meth stuff. This is something I want to go after." As currently proposed, the team would be composed of two prosecutors, at least one defense attorney, a judge and the clerks and secretaries necessary to support them. The make-up may change in the coming weeks as county officials decide what they need to make the task force work. Interim Public Defender Rich Fasy said Tuesday he'll need at least two additional assistant public defenders in his office to handle the number of cases in question. The endeavor is expected to cost at least $500,000 per year. Harris and fellow commissioners Kate McCaslin and John Roskelley have given their tentative approval to pay for the team out of the county's reserve fund. "I think it's a great idea," Roskelley said. The idea is to ensure people arrested for cooking meth are prosecuted as quickly as possible and sent to state prison if convicted, said County Commissioner Phil Harris, who conceived the idea. Currently, prosecutors have a backlog of hundreds of meth cases. Quick justice would reduce the amount of meth on the street and might decrease the number of meth-related crimes committed in the region -- like vehicle prowlings, burglaries and robberies, Harris said. That, in turn, would reduce the social costs the public is forced to pay to repair families torn apart by drugs, he said. "I think we'll save a lot of money in the long run," the commissioner said. Harris said Tuesday he came up with the idea after hearing reports from sheriff's deputies of finding children during raids of homes where meth was being made. Sheriff Mark Sterk estimates children are present at 50 percent or more of the meth labs his deputies bust. "When I saw what was happening to our kids, I came unglued," Harris said. "I'm madder than hell at this meth stuff. This is something I want to go after." As currently proposed, the team would be comprised of two prosecutors, at least one defense attorney, a judge and the clerks and secretaries necessary to support them. The make-up may change in the coming weeks as county officials decide what they need to make the task force work. Interim Public Defender Rich Fasy said Tuesday he'll need at least two additional assistant public defenders in his office to handle the number of cases in question. The endeavor is expected to cost at least $500,000 per year. Harris and fellow commissioners Kate McCaslin and John Roskelley have given their tentative approval to pay for the team out of the county's reserve fund. "I think it's a great idea," Roskelley said. Sterk, Prosecutor Steve Tucker and Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen said Tuesday the team is badly needed to attack a problem that is clogging the court system, crowding the jail and taking a toll on society. Deputy Prosecutor John Grasso estimated there is a backlog of up to 1,200 unprosecuted meth cases in the county's files, as many as 120 of them for manufacturing. Eitzen said she wasn't surprised. "Seventy-five percent of the criminal cases I see are drugs. Seventy-five percent of those are meth," she said. "It's eating us alive." The problem isn't law enforcement, Harris said, pointing out that the Sheriff's Office is busting labs at a record pace. The problem is there aren't enough prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges to adjudicate the cases once an arrest is made, he said. That means the courts are forced to put some manufacturers and dealers back on the streets where they continue to commit crimes, costing society more money and pain, Harris said. "The sheriff's out there doing double duty," he said. "He's going out and arresting them again and again." McCaslin agreed. "They think nothing's happening to them, and they're right," McCaslin said. Sterk, Tucker, Eitzen and Fasy will spend the next two weeks coming up with a plan to implement the task force. They are scheduled to report back to commissioners Dec. 17. "I'm not naive enough to believe we'll stop meth manufacturers altogether," Harris said. "What I do believe is that we'll run them out of our county." - --- MAP posted-by: Alex