Pubdate: 09 Nov 2008
Source: Savannah Morning News (GA)
Contact:  2008 Savannah Morning News
Website: http://www.savannahnow.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/401

SMARTER POLICING

Chatham County should complete the merger of the  Counter Narcotics 
Team with the Savannah-Chatham Metro  Police Department.

ENVIRONMENTALSTS ENCOURAGE their neighbors to think  globally, but act locally.

All elected officials in Chatham County - newly  re-elected County 
Commission Chairman Pete Liakakis,  Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson, the 
mayors of the smaller  municipalities and every official who's 
committed to  reducing violent crime - must follow similar advice 
when it comes fighting drug crime.

How? By putting the countywide drug squad under the  command of the 
countywide police department. That's  where it belongs if the 
community genuinely wants safer  streets everywhere, not just in 
select neighborhoods.

For the past few months, top elected Chatham County and  Savannah 
officials have had a gentleman's agreement not  to wrap up the latest 
police merger agreement, which  would extend the pact that expires at 
the end of this  year, until after the Nov. 4 election.

They apparently didn't want to rock any political boats  and make the 
waters choppy for incumbents.

Fine. But the election is over. Mr. Liakakis and the  three incumbent 
commissioners who had opposition (Helen  Stone, David Gellatly and 
Patrick Farrell) are  returning for four more years.

Now it's time for county and city leaders to cement a  new agreement 
that does at least two things:

Puts the drug squad under the countywide police  department, which is 
what police experts have  recommended so that public resources are 
used most  effectively.

Protects the smaller municipalities, whose leaders fear  that their 
drug problems will be ignored in favor of  those within Savannah's city limits.

This is a fact: Some 75 percent of the drug crimes and  associated 
violence in Chatham County occur in  Savannah. It follows that the 
hammer blow on drug  dealing should fall hardest on the city's streets.

Police investigations and enforcement efforts work best  when 
officers act in concert and when manpower may be  speedily employed 
where needed. A unified enforcement  and drug investigation force can 
be expected to act  more nimbly than two independent local agencies 
that may be acting at cross purposes.

That said, if the county should follow the course of  the original 
police merger agreement and place the CNT  under metro police 
jurisdiction, Metro Chief Michael  Berkow must assure leaders in the 
smaller  municipalities that he will think globally. He 
must  convince them he will address their illegal drug  concerns, and 
not place them on the back burner.

It's also a matter of equity - the smaller cities  dedicate 
county-funded officers to the drug squad, too.

As it stands now, unfortunately, the chief who's  responsible for law 
enforcement over the majority of  people and biggest jurisdiction in 
Chatham County has  zero control over where the drug-fighting weapons 
are  deployed. That's like making one general responsible  for 
winning a war, but giving much of the ammo to a  different commander.

Meanwhile, those who say that the metro chief has  influence because 
of his seat on the drug squad's  advisory board are fooling 
themselves. The metro chief  is simply one voice and one vote. He has 
the same  influence as the chief who oversees the tiny  Bloomingdale 
police department.

Elected leaders occasionally have to make difficult  decisions for 
the good of the most people. Putting the  countywide drug squad under 
the countywide police  department is one of them. But it's more 
important to  be responsible than to be popular.

The rising cost of illicit drugs on the street -  reportedly a cause 
of recent turf wars - is a testament  to the current drug squad's 
success at making drugs a  scarcer commodity. But the associated rise 
in violence  calls for even greater cooperation between drug agents 
and those who investigate the turf war murders and  assaults; not a 
reticence to fully join forces.

Metro Chief Michael Berkow must assure leaders of  smaller 
municipalities that he will address their  illegal drug concerns, and 
not put them on the back  burner.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom