Pubdate: Thu, 02 Feb 2006
Source: Rocky Mount Telegram, The (NC)
Copyright: 2006 Cox Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1751
Author: Michael Barrett
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

POLICE STUDY METH, GANGS

Law enforcement leaders met Wednesday to discuss gang activity and 
meth labs - two of the more prominent criminal threats to the Twin 
Counties. Officials said Rocky Mount is not yet known as a haven for 
either crime. But they intend to be proactive, curbing the network 
that is causing the problems before they get out of control.

"The idea is we want to work together," said Lt. Scott Parker of the 
Nash County Sheriff's Department. "We want to be prepared." Rocky 
Mount police Cpl. Chris Johnson gave an overview of the city's gang 
activity. He said there is really no way to categorize the problem 
here compared to surrounding areas. But while not nearly as severe as 
in Los Angeles, he said it is significant enough to warrant close 
attention. That proved even more true with the recent underground 
release of a DVD that advertises the gang presence in Rocky Mount, 
Johnson said. Titled "Welcome to the Mount," the DVD features home 
video footage of gang members in local neighborhoods. Along with some 
narration, it also depicts people brandishing guns and evidence of 
assault and prostitution, Johnson said. "It's patterned after a 
similar DVD that was made about gang activity in Durham three years 
ago," Johnson said.

Rocky Mount police Capt. Laura Fahnestock said the department has 
worked with Durham authorities to ascertain the risk of gangs here. 
They consequently focused on an area of south Rocky Mount with a zero 
tolerance policy that is producing positive results.

"We've made over 150 arrests in a three-week period," she said. "It's 
been everything from minor traffic offenses to drug arrests, assaults 
and weapons charges." Johnson said an alarming reality in area high 
schools is that even squeaky-clean teenagers can identify which of 
their peers are in which gangs - down to which bathrooms "belong" to 
which group. "I urge you to talk to the school resource officers at 
these schools, because they see what's going on first-hand," Johnson 
said. Special Agent Kelly Page of the State Bureau of Investigation 
gave an overview on the problems with meth, which she called a highly 
addictive and destructive drug. State officials have focused on the 
drug of late because it is easy to make in rural environments with no 
electricity, using common household chemicals and products.

Page said meth labs have not been as common in Eastern North Carolina 
as in the western part of the state. But she said the regional 
hotbeds for production in this area are not that far away.

"I'm here to tell you it's here. It has arrived in Eastern North 
Carolina," Page said. "We found nine labs alone in the east in the 
first two weeks of 2006." The meeting also brought together 
representatives from areas of the community that could be impacted by 
a meth lab bust or explosion. Members of the Nash County 
Methamphetamine Task Force discussed protocol for dealing with 
related injuries, contamination and even the effect on children whose 
parents have been running a lab.

The discussion revealed that more must be done to put an effective 
response plan in place. But those in attendance were confident in the 
steps that are being taken.

"I think we can already see we're having some problems," said Rocky 
Mount Police Chief John Manley. "But we have to stick with the idea 
of working together."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom