Pubdate: Sun, 25 Sep 2005
Source: Paris News (TX)
Copyright: 2005 Paris News
Contact:  http://www.theparisnews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/997

FEWER COPS MEANS MORE DRUG CRIMES

Everyday we're reminded that drug trafficking continues to be a major 
problem in and around Paris.

Unfortunately, we seem to have fewer narcotics officers on the 
streets lately even as the drug problem continues to grow. Narcotics 
arrests fill the daily crime reports, and no part of the city is exempt.

If one skims through the daily reports, you get the picture pretty 
quickly - probably nine of every 10 offenses are related to drugs, 
either directly or indirectly. The same is true of the felony 
indictments handed up by the Lamar County grand jury when it meets each month.

People are arrested for buying or selling drugs, they're arrested for 
stealing something to buy drugs, or they're arrested for what they do 
under the influence of drugs.

This is frightening, and the problem is getting worse, not better.

Will Paris be a good place to live if drug trafficking continues to thrive?

As the problem grows worse, the Paris Police Department no longer has 
a drug task force for all intents of purposes. With those who were 
assigned to the narcotics division now pulled away and assigned to 
routine patrol, no drug investigations are currently going on within 
the department.

A productive multi-county drug task force continues to work Paris and 
Lamar County, but that's not enough at a time when drug trafficking 
in the city is rampant.

It is important to have the patrol division at full force, but it's 
also vital that we not pull away officers from the criminal 
investigation division and the narcotics division to accomplish that.

Police Chief Karl Louis says he has no other choice. Pay and benefits 
for city employees have been cut back to the point that the city no 
longer can compete with other cities for officers, and overtime has 
been ruled out because of budget constraints.

We pay our police officers less than other cities do, and police 
officers continue to leave the force.

We can't seem to be able to hire qualified replacements. It's a 
months-long process to bring a new officer on board, and Civil 
Service examinations that once drew dozens of applicants now draw 
only a handful.

The Paris City Council needs to put a high priority on improving drug 
enforcement in the city - and right away. It's not an area we can 
afford to keep on a back burner.
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman