Pubdate: Thu, 21 Feb 2002
Source: The Star Democrat (MD)
Copyright: 2002 The Star Democrat
Contact:  http://www.stardem.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1233
Author: Laura A. Said, Capital News Service

WHITE HOUSE OFFERS MARYLAND POLICE FEDERAL DRUG-FIGHTING FREEBIES

FREDERICK - It was the kind of pitch usually heard only on late-night 
television.

White House officials demonstrated high-tech drug-fighting gear to about 35 
Maryland state and local police officers Feb. 15, touting the gear as the 
same models used by federal drug enforcement agencies.

And it's free, said staffers from the Office of National Drug Control 
Policy, who also threw in travel costs, per diem and delivery. But unlike 
late-night TV, this offer was as good as it sounds.

The Technology Transfer Program provides drug interdiction equipment, 
training and installation to local police departments that otherwise could 
not afford it. The program is funded at $22 million for fiscal 2002.

In four years, the program has only given 37 pieces of equipment to 24 
Maryland law enforcement agencies, according to program manager Rafael 
Anton. Nationwide, 2,533 agencies have received more than 3,250 items since 
the program began in 1998.

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Frederick, who hosted Friday's two-hour event, said 
he invited the White House staff to Frederick because he thought many 
Maryland departments did not know about the program.

Local law enforcement is "where the rubber hits road" in stopping drug 
traffic, Bartlett said. "This (program) really leverages a great deal."

Al Brandenstein, chief scientist in the office's Counterdrug Technology 
Assessment Center, said almost every agency that applies to the program has 
received equipment. His staff said the program is so popular across the 
country that all fiscal 2002 training slots are already full.

Bartlett's staff called the program a "no-brainer" for local police.

Brandenstein said 56 percent of the program's equipment goes to 
jurisdictions with fewer than 50,000 people.

The program's catalog offers equipment for suspect surveillance and 
tracking and drug detection. Anton said the most popular items are thermal 
imaging equipment and the Mini-Buster Contraband Detector.

The thermal imaging equipment can be vehicle-mounted or hand-held, and 
provides night vision capability, according to the office. It senses heat, 
not light, and generates real-time video pictures. An office video shows 
Brownsville, Texas, police using thermal imaging to catch drug runners 
crossing the border.

The Mini-Buster kit has a depth finder and fiber optics to detect drugs and 
money hidden in vehicles. Customs officers use the fiber-optic snake to 
peer into gas tanks and they use the depth finder to discover hidden 
compartments or stashes behind the panels of cars or trucks.

Only 11 Maryland agencies will receive equipment and training this year, 
according to Kent Lunsford, a contractor with the program. Police in 
Berlin, Ocean City and Anne Arundel County have received equipment in the past.

Lunsford said President Bush again budgeted $22 million for the program in 
fiscal 2003, but that the budget request was formulated before Sept. 11.

Bartlett said Congress would add as much money to the appropriation as needed.
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