Pubdate: Sun, 26 Mar 2006
Source: Wausau Daily Herald (WI)
Copyright: 2006 Wausau Daily Herald
Contact: 
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/contactus/readerservices/letter_to_editor.shtml
Website: http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1321
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)

DRUG BUSTS ON RISE, AS THEY SHOULD BE

March roared in like a lion on crack.

Or, it might have seemed that way to anyone paying attention to a
series of high-profile drug busts early this month from Wausau to
Wisconsin Rapids.

In the first week of March, Marathon County authorities seized enough
cocaine in the Wausau area to earn a crafty dealer a cool $28,000 in
cash on the streets. They also confiscated several thousand dollars in
cash they believe was related to the local drug trade.

As it turns out, the dealers weren't crafty enough to elude
authorities, although one of the five suspects tried mightily: He sped
away from the Crossroads County Market, screamed through intersections
on Rib Mountain Drive at 100 mph, passed other cars on the left and
spun out in front of Gulliver's Landing when a sheriff's deputy
smashed his squad into the fleeing car. Then the young man of 21 took
off on foot, but lost the race.

The same day, three busts in the Wisconsin Rapids area led to eight
arrests and the confiscation of drugs and paraphernalia. That was
about a week after Wood County authorities seized $30,000 worth of pot
and $4,000 in cash and arrested four people in Auburndale. Three days
after that, Portage County officials snagged $15,000 worth of
marijuana, $1,800 in cash and three suspects.

In nine days, authorities in the three central Wisconsin counties
pulled off the streets nearly $75,000 worth of marijuana and cocaine,
nearly $10,000 in cash and 20 suspected dealers and buyers.

They also made sure the busts grabbed headlines and made the evening
newscasts. That's part of the strategy, to shout, "Hey, drug dealers,
this community's bad for business."

Which leads to obvious questions: Does that strategy work? Has each of
these drug arrests made us safer? Are the cops cleaning up our streets?

Wood County Sheriff Thomas Reichert, who started a campaign called
"Take Back Our Youth," says the answer is yes.

"We've been successful," Reichert said, referring to the Central
Wisconsin Drug Task Force. "We've taken out some big dealers in the
Auburndale area."

What Reichert can't do is quantify the numbers. He can't say how many
busts have occurred compared with a year ago, for instance.

Anecdotal evidence, while important, doesn't tell the whole story.
Data supporting an increase in drug busts would make the case that
much stronger.

The Marathon County Sheriff's Department's drug unit does keep track
of its arrest numbers, and the data indicate that local streets are
being cleaned up. So far this year, county officers have arrested 52
people for drug-related crimes.

In all of last year, Marathon County officers arrested 234 and
confiscated or bought $198,000 worth of drugs. Arrests in 2005 were up
56 percent from the year before; and the value of seized drugs was up
an incredible 345 percent.

For his part, Reichert sounds like a sheriff who has no lack of
resolve, even if he is short on figures for Wood County.

"I think there's a lot of drugs in our community ... and I think these
drugs are affecting families, affecting individuals. We have a lot of
work to do," he said. "We're going to continue to aggressively
investigate drug cases.

"Our real goal in this is to make our little corner of the world
better."

It's a good goal, and one that all law enforcement agencies -- all
community members -- should embrace.

Drugs clearly are a danger to our way of life. We cannot afford to lie
down like a lamb and let them continue to roar. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake