Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jun 2005
Source: Charleston Daily Mail (WV)
Copyright: 2005 Charleston Daily Mail
Contact:  http://www.dailymail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/76
Author: George Gannon

DRUG UNIT GETTING PRIORITY

Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito said today the Metro Drug Unit would be
given priority when applying for a portion of $60 million set aside in the
Justice Department's proposed budget to battle the methamphetamine problem.
"Meth is a pervasive problem," Capito said. "It's highly addictive and
people are hiding these labs." The budget bill will be debated on the House
floor next week. The special provision puts the drug unit, along with about
40 other law enforcement groups from around the country, at the top of the
list when they apply for grants through the program.

Those groups would be given priority because they represent areas of the
country considered especially hard hit by meth. "It gives the drug unit
priority status," Capito said. Drug unit leaders and police officials from
around the state have complained about a proposed overall federal budget
that would "zero out" many of the grants these agencies are using to fight
the drug problem and maintain day-to-day operations. The proposed reductions
are especially damaging now because meth is such an expensive drug to fight.
Capito said she's talked with police officers about the problem and when she
saw this funding window, she did what she could to make certain the drug
unit was on the list. "This is part of my job as a representative, to find
how federal resources can be maximized and best used," Capito said. Any
money anyone can secure for the drug unit is welcome. Within the next year,
the unit, which focuses on drug activity in Kanawha and Putnam counties and
uses officers from local police agencies, could lose grants that fund
overtime and help the departments who loan them officers. Lt. Chuck
Carpenter, the drug unit's commander, was thankful for Capito's efforts, but
said they need more help from the federal level to offset the cost of
maintaining the unit. Meth is damaging on two fronts.

It's a dangerous, addictive drug, but the people who use and make it don't
have anything of value for police to confiscate. With drugs like cocaine and
marijuana, the dealers are usually well-heeled and have plenty of stuff
police agencies can turn into assets. If suspects are found with a large
amount of money or driving a nice car, the drug unit can confiscate that and
then incorporate it into their own budget. A meth cook or user generally
operates at the lower end of the financial spectrum and has very little that
a police agency can turn into useable assets. "These people don't have any
assets.

They're just liabilities," Carpenter said. Their lack of assets is
compounded by what it costs to clean labs. The drug unit might spend upwards
of $2,000 trying to process the scene. That cost comes in the form of
overtime hours and equipment used to gather and collect evidence. Carpenter
said there appears to be some relief.

With area stores mandated by law to restrict access to medicines containing
pseudoephedrine, the drug's active ingredient, they've been called out less.
"We've gone from busting four and five labs a day to busting three and four
a week," he said. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Josh