Pubdate: Thu, 02 May 2002 Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (NY) Copyright: 2002 Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Contact: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/614 Author: Alan Morrell CITIZENS, CITY POLICE TEAM UP AGAINST DRUG TRADE Citizens will patrol drug-infested neighborhoods with Rochester police, drug buyers will get letters from police and suspected drug dealers will get a knock on their door from police. Those are some of the plans Rochester Police Chief Robert Duffy unveiled Wednesday as part of a progress report on plans to fight the illegal drug problem here. The announcement came five months after a daylong forum on illegal drugs. "We cannot fix a problem that has gone on for 100 years, but we can make great gains in Rochester," Duffy said during a meeting with the Democrat and Chronicle editorial board. "This is a marathon." Duffy convened a "Summit on Illegal Drugs" in December with about 120 participants from a broad spectrum -- including law enforcement, education, treatment and prevention -- to come up with ideas to tackle the drug problem. Ideas developed since then, which Duffy discussed Wednesday, include: * Community Response Teams, with police and residents blitzing drug-infested neighborhoods. The citizens will try to disrupt drug dealing on street corners and at drug houses by speaking with people on the streets and reporting back to police. Some citizens will have video cameras. That strategy starts Tuesday, when graduates of the Rochester Police Department's Citizens Police Academy and Clergy Police Academy, along with members of Police And Citizens Together Against Crime, will hit parts of northeast, northwest and southwest Rochester. * A "knock-and-talk" approach, with police knocking on doors of suspected drug houses and letting people inside know police are watching them. * Sending letters to residents whose vehicles are spotted in areas with rampant drug dealing. Duffy said he has sent about 120 letters. Only one person has responded and said he was not buying drugs. * Hiring an expert to help craft an anti-drug strategy. Working with high school dropouts to keep them away from drugs. * Redirecting money and property seized from drug dealers toward treatment, prevention and education, as well as law enforcement. Currently, seized assets go only to police. * Looking for ways to make it legal for police to conduct "reverse stings" involving bogus marijuana. In 1995, City Court Judge Teresa Johnson tossed out more than 100 such cases on constitutional grounds. For one, she said, officers were selling such small amounts of fake marijuana that possession would have been only a violation and attempted possession not even that serious. Duffy discussed the plans later Wednesday with about 75 members of committees that were formed from the summit. That meeting, at the offices of the United Way of Greater Rochester, focused on the Community Response Teams. "Most people in the streets never see police working with citizens, said Hanif Abdul Wahid of Rochesterians Against Illegal Narcotics, who was encouraged by the plans. "This will help because it takes it to where we're trying to get more good citizens out. This is not a law enforcement action - -- this is a response to interrupt (the drug trade) and to dialogue with the community." The Rev. Karyn Carter, director of the group Families and Friends of Murdered Children and Victims of Violence, said she liked what she heard -- but said she wanted to hear more about treatment. "There's an addiction problem," she said. "If we're talking to people and we don't have someone to connect with them, our efforts will be futile. It's more than just reporting; it's making a connection." Duffy said police chose the areas that will be targeted Tuesday after prioritizing 15 drug markets in the city, mainly in an area identified by Mayor William A. Johnson Jr. as a "crescent" of crime. Duffy said a recent study showed 253 known drug houses in Rochester, with customers coming from as far as Allegany County. - --- MAP posted-by: Ariel