Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jan 2003
Source: Laurel Leader-Call (MS)
Copyright: 2003 Laurel Leader-Call
Contact:  http://www.leadercall.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1662
Author: Jason Niblett

CHIEF: GOING AFTER DRUG DEALERS LOWERS CRIME RATE

Laurel Police Chief Tim Waterson said a crackdown on illegal drugs was a 
major cause in the reduction of Laurel's crime rate for the second year in 
a row in most categories.

Waterson released the 2002 Index Crime Statistics Wednesday.

The FBI releases crime information every year. The federal organization 
looks at statistics in homicides, rapes, aggravated assaults, robberies and 
burglaries, larceny, auto theft, and sometimes arson. Laurel crimes were 
down in every category except robberies and burglaries.

"We're targeting the dealers," Waterson said. "We had one of the largest 
cocaine bust in history this year and the largest marijuana bust. We've got 
95-percent of crimes being drug related because people are trying to gain 
money to buy drugs."

Police departments across the nation report monthly to the FBI. Federal 
agents then take that information to compare crime rates to other cities. 
They base figures on a population of 100,000. For example, if a city has 4 
homicides and a population of 20,000, the figure would be rounded to 20 
homicides per 100,000 people.

Waterson said the statistics help police departments know which programs 
work and which ones don't.

"We've had some changes in philosophy in the department," Waterson said. 
"Officers are very diligent about crime prevention. We're not only working 
on law enforcement but on crime prevention. There is also a lot more 
sharing of information between units in the department."

The Laurel Police Department responded to 1,306 traffic accidents and 
39,281 responses to calls.

"Overall, I am very happy with the way the department performed and how 
they worked together," Waterson said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth