Pubdate: Mon, 29 Mar 2010 Source: Eagle Herald (Marinette, WI) Copyright: 2010 Bliss Communication Inc. Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/BzLI5fpK Website: http://ehextra.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3220 Author: Mike Desotell PUTTING THE HEAT ON HEROIN Area Law Agencies Work Together To Fight The Problem MENOMINEE - The border between Marinette and Menominee exists on maps but has virtually no impact on the cooperation between law enforcement agencies, especially when it comes to drug enforcement. Police and sheriff's departments in both counties constantly work together along with the Michigan State Police, the Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team (UPSET) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). "If we weren't able to make agreements like that, we'd have drug dealers working state boundaries all the time," said Menominee County Sheriff Kenny Marks. "They'd be running us in circles. We have to work together." One of the key drugs of concern right now is heroin. The amount of the highly addictive opiate coming into the area has even been noticed at the federal level. "I've talked with a number of people I've worked with up in Marinette, both the county and the city, and it is really becoming a major problem in that area," said Christopher Hackbarth, resident agent with the DEA's Green Bay office. "What we traditionally see are the second- and third-level dealers up in the Marinette area. They pool their money together and go down to Green Bay, but more traditionally to Milwaukee or sometimes Chicago." The cost A bindle of heroin, about 1/10 of an ounce, sells for $10 on the streets of Chicago. It can fetch $40 in Marinette and Menominee. The trip makes financial sense for dealers. Money is only part of the equation. But the real cost comes later, once someone becomes hooked. "I think it's very disturbing that heroin has come to the surface here," said Marinette Police Chief Jeff Skorik. "It's even more disturbing that occurrences seem to be increasing. We're continuing to make arrests for heroin possession and distribution. I think that it's a mess in our community right now and it's ruining people's lives and destroying families." Skorik's sentiments are shared by Marinette County's Chief Deputy Jerry Sauve. "If I had to put it into one word, it's alarming because of how quickly this is addicting people. It's inexpensive and for some reason it's getting to be the drug of choice and that's getting to be a concern for us." Of equal concern to police officials are the other crimes being committed by people to help support their drug habit. Unemployment is up, people's working hours have been cut back and raises aren't like they used to be. When a person has a drug habit that can run $100 a day, the money has to come from somewhere. Related crimes The daily police blotter is filled with reports of theft, burglary, armed robbery, home invasion and more. According to 1st Lt. Karen McCormack, post commander for the Michigan State Police in Stephenson, 60 to 70 percent of those types of crimes are on the increase, including assault and domestic assault, and it all stems from the use of alcohol, narcotics or prescription drugs. "In addition to the drug-related crimes that have been on the increase, the amount of weapon offenses are also increasing," she said. "We also work closely with the ATF." McCormack said the number of guns stolen and being possessed illegally is on the rise. McCormack said her officers investigate a lot of drug cases. "We've seen an increase in heroin use, and investigations are tri-fold in the last couple years." The increase in narcotics investigations also include prescription drugs, marijuana and crack cocaine. In 2009, police officers in the city of Menominee worked 28 narcotics investigations which led to 33 arrests. So far this year there have been 19 arrests with seven on-going cases. Manpower With all the drugs and all the arrests, one might think there are undercover detectives, investigators and drug agents swarming the area. Not so. Every department in the area has experienced cutbacks in personnel and funding. Between the police and sheriff's departments, the Marinette side of the river has nearly twice as many officers on the street. In order to help get a handle on the drug problem, area law enforcement agencies have pooled their resources. The city of Menominee has a staff of 14 from the chief on down. The department is down five-and-half positions from its strongest point. Meanwhile, the Menominee County Sheriff's Department has 11 officers including a detective and school resource officer plus the sheriff and under-sheriff. "My opinion is we don't have enough," said Marks. Right now staff has to be freed up to work on drug cases and being short-staffed and flexible doesn't always go together. "I don't have the luxury right now of saying, 'OK, I'm going to assign this deputy to just doing drug cases.'" Detective Greg Nast with the Menominee Sheriff's Department works on most of the larger felony and adult drug cases for the county and is also in regular contact with his counterparts on the other side of the river. Marks said he's fortunate to be able to work closely with the other agencies. Even though the State Police post in Stephenson is down two troopers, personnel there are also doing more with less. "We assist other departments and because we're a state agency our investigations often lead us to other counties if not other states," said McCormack. On the Wisconsin side, the Marinette Police Department has a staff of 23 from the chief on down while the Marinette County Sheriff's Department has a sheriff, chief deputy, two patrol lieutenants, four patrol sergeants, 16 deputies, an investigative lieutenant, three detectives and a drug officer. Sauve stressed it takes a lot of man hours and personnel to make solid drug cases. "It's very labor intensive and sometimes you wonder if you're just scratching the surface of it." He said the public can do its part by calling Crime Stoppers with tips about suspected drug use. Callers can remain anonymous and even receive a cash reward in certain cases. Marinette County Crime Stoppers Tip Line: 1-800-427-5857 Information can be a two edge sword. While area departments need intelligence information, the question remains about how they can best use it to build cases that will stick in court. It's not a question of good police work; it's simply a matter of how many people are available. "The fact we have a heroin problem does not mean that all the other calls for services end either," said Skorik. "There are some things that have to be handled right now, immediately, every day, day after day."