Pubdate: Mon, 10 Dec 2007
Source: Times Union (Albany, NY)
Copyright: 2007 Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation
Contact: http://www.timesunion.com/forms/emaileditor.asp
Website: http://www.timesunion.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/452
Author: John Monte

HOLD CRIMINALS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS

Most articles concerning drug crime, along with the  opinion of the 
advocates for the drug dealers, seem to  have one common theme: It is 
the fault of the police or  the judicial system that these 
individuals are  incarcerated. Once again we see the removal of 
personal accountability, we blame everyone except the 
person  committing the act. Street level drug dealing is the  primary 
factor in the violence within our community;  this is a fact not opinion.

I am a narcotics enforcement officer in Albany and can  say I have 
never targeted anyone because of their sex,  race or ethnic 
background, although I have targeted  violent criminals with long 
criminal histories and  watched them released after doing a fraction 
of their  sentence because of a little known loophole called  merit 
release, a back-door program that essentially  throws out a judge's 
sentence and releases felons back  into the community to commit further damage.

Misnomer: The district attorney targets high level drug  dealers, we 
the police build cases and bring them to  the district attorney for 
prosecution, some are upper  level dealers and some are street level 
dealers. In my  seven-plus years in the narcotics unit, the 
district  attorney past or present has never brought us a 
case.  Holding criminals responsible for their actions is the  only 
way to stem the violence that seems to be the  focus of Albany's future.

JOHN MONTE

Albany
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