Pubdate: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 Source: Times, The (Munster IN) Copyright: 2006 The Munster Times Contact: http://www.nwitimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/832 Author: Lauri Harvey Keagle Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) DRUG TASK FORCE FUNDING DWINDLING HEROIN: Lake County may soon feel financial woes of Porter County unit. The funding for the Lake County Drug Task Force is 12 times that of the Porter County Drug Task Force, but those dollars are expected to be gone by 2008. Commander Zon Haralovich, who heads the Lake County group, said the problems the task forces are addressing are different. Lake County's biggest drug problems come from marijuana and cocaine, while Porter County is seeing a deadly problem with heroin and other opiates. Still, Haralovich said he is concerned about his counterpart in Porter County, Robert Taylor, who is trying to tackle the problem with scarce resources. "I feel for the guy, because his hands are really tied," Haralovich said. Compared to the Porter County Drug Task Force -- which has an annual budget of just $44,000, has never applied for federal grant assistance and has a staff of four -- Haralovich's six-officer staff has a budget of $543,000, paid for almost exclusively by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. But those funds are being shifted to homeland security efforts at the federal level, and Haralovich said he fears he'll soon be feeling Taylor's funding pains. As of Oct. 1, the task force's share will be reduced to $293,000. By April 1, 2007, the funding will take another hit, down to $157,000. By 2008, the federal funds are expected to be gone all together, leaving the task force with just $10,000 from the county, which is what they have now to use for drug buys. The Lake County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration work on the larger busts, Haralovich said, but when the money is gone for the street-level enforcement, he's not sure what will happen. Haralovich said some people wrongly think the drug problems in the county don't affect them and don't support the need for more funding for the various agencies. "With the heroin guy, once they're high, they're a little passed out laying there doing their thing, but eventually, the itch starts and they get that craving, like a vampire, and they have to eat again," he said. "Whatever they can get their hands on that has any value, they'll trade it off to get their fix. "That's when you get the smash-and-grabs, retail thefts, residential thefts from people who are going to trade the items they get for dope," Haralovich said. "The violent crimes start coming in, too, just to get the money to feed their habit. "Who do you think it is knocking down Grandma at the grocery store and stealing her purse or busting the windows out on your car at the mall to get your change? Trust me, it hits home real quick when it happens to you." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman