Pubdate: Sat, 23 Dec 2006
Source: Ithaca Journal, The (NY)
Copyright: 2006, The Ithaca Journal
Contact: http://www.theithacajournal.com/news/letters.html
Website: http://www.theithacajournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1098
Author: Raymond Drumsta, Journal Staff

CHIEF - VIOLENT CRIME NOT ON THE RISE

Officials Address Concerns After Narcotics Sweep

ITHACA -- In the light of the recent county-wide  narcotics arrests,
state and local law enforcement  officials, headed by Ithaca Mayor
Carolyn Peterson and  Ithaca Police Chief Lauren Signer, spoke about
crime  and drugs in Ithaca in an hour-long press conference at  police
headquarters Friday.

"Drugs are a problem everywhere," Signer said. "No  community is safe."

The multi-agency narcotics sweep apprehended 33 people  in arrests
Tuesday, last week and earlier this month.  The operation also seized
thousands of dollars and  confiscated marijuana and cocaine, according
to the New  York State Police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team.
Patrick J. Garey, CNET lieutenant-in-charge; Tompkins  County District
Attorney Gwen Wilkinson; and Assistant  Deputy State Attorney General
Michael Sharpe were also  at the conference.

Among the reasons they held the conference, Signer  said, was to
address community concerns over a  perceived increase in crime and to
let people know that  they're collaborating with other agencies to
address  crime.

Signer emphasized that the perception that violent  crime is on the
rise in Ithaca is just that -- a  perception with no numbers available
to support it.  This perception is rooted in recent high profile crime
  incidents, such as stabbings last summer and home  invasions last
fall, she added.

"I can tell you as the chief of police, we've seen no  increase in
crime." She conceded that the department is  behind on its
record-keeping and has no computerized  record-keeping system.

Wilkinson said her office sees crimes like larceny,  grand larceny,
petit larceny, forgery, robbery and  burglary as a result of drug use,
though she could not  say whether those types of crimes have increased.

"There are many, many crimes, serious and less serious  in the scheme
of things, that are a direct result of  addiction and drug
trafficking," Wilkinson said.

The sweep arrests netted everyone from high-level  distributors to
street-level dealers selling drugs to  support a drug habit.

"This latest series of arrests has apprehended people  at all levels
of the distribution chain," she said.  "The whole spectrum is
represented in this latest  investigation." The charges, she added,
reflect that.

Garey sketched a picture of the drug connection between  New York City
and Upstate, saying that 99 percent of  the drugs in the area,
especially cocaine and heroin,  come from New York City. This is the
case in all cities  in the state, he added.

"Ithaca is not unique in the fact that it's a target  location for
(drug traffickers) to come upstate," he  said.

Garey said traffickers find the population centers and  meld into the
surroundings.

"A drug dealer up here can sell a piece of crack for  between $20 and
$40 that costs $5 in New York City," he  said. "It's all profit."

The drug dealers who sell Upstate are the ones who  can't make it in
New York City, Garey said. He said  drug dealers will come to town for
a week, do business,  and then return to New York City for month.

"That makes it very difficult to catch them," he said.

Signer and Peterson acknowledged the efforts of the  Common Council to
fund the investigations and policing.

"We can't do anything without the support of council  members who see
the activity and fallout of this drug  use in their communities," she
said.

Investigations like these are time-consuming but  ultimately
rewarding, a CNET undercover investigator  said after the conference.
Drug dealers are creatures  of habit, and it takes patience to catch
them.

"At the end, it's nice when things come together," the  investigator
said.

The investigators, along with the Ithaca Police who  took part in the
investigation, suffered the long hours  that come with the job, Garey
and the investigator  said.

Both said patrol officers are integral to  investigations.

"They're the ones who give us the leads," the  investigator said.

"They're the eyes and ears on the street," Garey  agreed.
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