Pubdate: Wed, 02 Mar 2005
Source: News Guard, The (Lincoln City, OR)
Copyright: 2005 The News Guard
Contact:  http://www.thenewsguard.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1382
Author: Ezra Casteel, The News Guard
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH CASES INCREASED IN 2004

Crime in Lincoln County climbed in 2004, according to a report given by 
District Attorney Bernice Barnett to the Board of Commissioners recently. 
While both felonies and misdemeanors were higher than 2003, felonies were 
slightly lower than in 2002.

A high percentage of the cases were directly related to drugs. Of the 592 
felonies, 286 were drug related, Barnett said. Those do not take into 
account cases where drugs may have played a role. The most prevalent drug 
is methamphetamine, according to Barnett, who said nearly all of the cases 
were dealing with meth, and only a few relating to heroin or cocaine and a 
few marijuana.

"Almost everything was meth," she said.

The number of meth arrests jumped from 42 in 2003 to 104 in 2004. Meth labs 
destroyed also jumped from two in 2003 to 12 in 2004.

One of the reasons for the statistic jump may be the Lincoln Interagency 
Narcotics Team is back up to four detectives, according to Barnett, 
allowing the team to respond to tips from citizens.

"We have a fine group of detectives in the community," Barnett said.

County Commissioner Bill Hall reminded citizens that calling in tips are 
still very important.

"Just because you call in a report and nothing happens in a day or a week, 
it doesn't mean it will be forgotten," Hall said.

Barnett said detectives do respond to tips, but it can take time to 
investigate them.

One of those tips led to a bust where five or six people were detained 
after selling alcohol and marijuana to school students. That case 
contributed to the 15 cases of narcotics reported within 1,000 feet of 
school, compared to last year's one case.

Barnett has also expanded the number of community members being trained in 
recognizing suspicious incidents. In 2004, 1,629 adults attended classes, 
compared to 464 in 2003. The number of classes held tripled, with 63 held 
in 2004, compared to 21 in 2003. Children attending classes also jumped to 
382 in 2004, compared to 155 in 2003.

"We've worked really hard to utilize community members to help us," Barnett 
said.

She said they have also coordinated with hospital staff more closely to 
have sexual assault examiners who work together with rape victim advocates. 
Nurses will ride along with police officers in addition to medical training.

Volunteers at the District Attorney's office are almost always busy, 
according to Barnett. "We rarely see people sitting around."

With funds shrinking, the office has leaned more heavily on volunteers for 
tasks. Barnett asked the County Commissioners for a volunteer coordinator, 
which she said could help save the county even more money. There is no easy 
way to support volunteers currently, she said.

To streamline the process even more, a new computer program updates the 
District Attorney's calendar of upcoming court hearings without someone 
having to enter it manually.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom