Pubdate: Tue, 06 Nov 2001
Source: Flint Journal (MI)
Copyright: 2001 Flint Journal
Contact:  http://www.flintjournal.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/836

RIFT BETWEEN DRUG UNITS MAY REQUIRE A REFEREE

The drug war in Genesee County has developed into a public relations battle 
between Sheriff Robert J. Pickell and the Flint Area Narcotics Group over 
whether the sheriff's new drug team is a help or hindrance in combating 
narcotics trafficking.

The best answer is that it's too early to tell, but eventually the public 
needs to know for sure so our leaders can make the best use of law 
enforcement resources. That would require independent analysis, which 
likely will be hard to come by in this political atmosphere.

Pickell has much riding on his decision to withdraw his department's 
participation in FANG, the long-established, state-police-led consortium of 
local police agencies. In the year's first nine months, his four-member 
unit has bagged 16 upper-level drug dealers and seized $639,000 in 
narcotics. The much-larger FANG in the same period has arrested 24 of the 
bigger dealers and confiscated $2.6 million in illegal drugs. The only 
conclusion to be drawn from the numbers is that both agencies have been bad 
news for the bad guys, as arrests are more than double those in roughly the 
same period last year.

Does that mean the competition has been good? FANG's leadership implies no, 
complaining of a difficult working relationship between the two units. The 
sheriff counters that his bureaucratic-free machine is doing the job he 
promised in bringing down the big-time dealers.

The public could tolerate this tit-for-tat spat if all that was at stake 
were bruised egos. But who knows where this rift will lead? What happens 
next year if both compete for the same federal/state grant money that funds 
drug enforcement agencies? Will it be survival of the fittest?

Perhaps it would be best if the county's wiser heads involved themselves in 
this matter before it becomes a mess. County Board Chairman Richard A. 
Hammel seemed to be hinting at that when he suggested the county and FANG 
leaders meet to discuss sharing information and coordinating drug-fighting 
resources.

Amen to that. An honest broker is needed and the sooner the better.
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MAP posted-by: Beth