Pubdate: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 Source: Register-Guard, The (OR) Copyright: 2001 The Register-Guard Contact: http://www.registerguard.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/362 Author: Larry Bacon, The Register-Guard Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) COASTAL ANTI-DRUG TEAM SEES SHORTFALL COOS BAY - Methamphetamine has become the scourge of Oregon's south coast. The illegal drug gives users a high they think they cannot live without, but also pushes them toward increasingly bizarre and violent behavior. Local law enforcement officials say more and more small meth labs are popping up in rural areas along the south coast as enforcement efforts have pushed manufacturers out of Lane County and Northern California. At the same time, officials say, more meth from mega-labs south of the border is finding its way to the south coast, pushing down prices and putting more methamphetamine on the streets. Records show that since 1999, south coast drug-related property crimes are up 300 percent and drug-related person-to-person crimes are up 500 percent. South coast police agencies closed only two meth labs last year but have shut down 14 so far this year. Given that, officials say, is this the time to be talking about shutting down the area's first line of defense against drug crimes, the South Coast Interagency Narcotics Team. Sgt. Dan Looney, the team's coordinator, doesn't advocate shutting down operations. But he says a public dialogue on the question is important because if a pending funding crisis isn't resolved, the team is going to disappear. "We have enough funds to go roughly through July of 2002," says Looney, a sheriff's deputy who has headed the 13-year-old team since 1997. "After that, if they don't figure out a different way to make up our shortfall, we're out of business." The team's deficit is about $175,000 per year - about half the annual cost of operation. It has four full-time employees and rents an office in the Oregon State Police building in Coos Bay. Looney and Laurie Kreutzer, the team's administrative assistant, blame the shortfall on state Ballot Measure 3, which was passed by voters in the November 2000 general election. The measure set up new guidelines for the use of goods and cash seized by police agencies during drug investigations. In the past, agencies such as the South Coast Interagency Narcotics Team have relied heavily on such seizures to cover their costs of operation. Ballot Measure 3 halted such seizures until after an accused is convicted. But the change that has hurt the south coast team the most is a requirement that all property seizure proceeds, except for administrative costs, be spent on drug treatment. Seized drug money and revenue from the sale of "drug cars" once made up about half the the team's revenue. A continuing federal grant has made up the other half. None of the 17 participating south coast law enforcement agencies has helped pay for the program. The new rules went into effect last December and no drug property has been seized on the south coast since then. Looney says the costs involved in property seizures - such as towing and storing vehicles - simply wouldn't have been worth the effort. Since then, the team has been operating on the annual federal grant and some reserve funds. But those reserves are dwindling. For the past two months, Looney and law enforcement leaders on the SCINT board of directors, have been talking to any groups that will listen about the team, its past successes, and the threat it faces. Since its inception in 1988, records show, SCINT work has resulted in 2,840 arrests and the seizure of drugs with a street value of $125 million. Looney says the team's greatest value is that it has resources for handling drug investigations that no single agency could muster. The participating agencies provide manpower that can be pooled to work on cases that often involve multiple communities and sometimes cross county and state lines, he says. "There is no single agency in the economic times we have now that can afford to do a large-scale investigation into narcotics trafficking," he says. And if the South Coast Interagency Narcotics Team disappears because of lack of funding. "As soon as the dopers - the drug users and manufacturers - find out, we're going to see a rise in (meth) labs like you can't even believe," Looney says. And Kreutzer predicts that with more drugs will come more thefts and violent crime. The funding problem has been the topic of a number community meetings already and two more are scheduled this month. But Looney says the team and local law enforcement leaders are asking the public for ideas on how to solve the problem. So far, no permanent fix has materialized, he says. Coos County Commissioner Nikki Whitty has been trying to help solve the team's funding problem. "I think it would be terrible to lose them," she says. She's concentrating her efforts on trying to raise $150,000 to help support the team during the next budget year while permanent funding arrangements can be made. She plans to talk with other Coos County commissioners, and with county commissioners in Douglas and Curry counties, about using state economic development funds to support the team. The idea is based on the premise that new businesses aren't going to want to locate in an area where drug problems and crime are rampant. Bay Area Hospital has already pledged $20,000 to the team, and Whitty says she would like to see other public agencies step forward. As for a permanent solutions, some of the ideas on the table include commitments for continuing funding from participating law enforcement agencies, or forming a special taxing district, which would require voter approval. Whitty says only a minimal property tax rate would be needed to provide the funding that the team needs. SOUTH COAST INTERAGENCY NARCOTICS TEAM Mission: To provide assistance for 17 police agencies from Reedsport to Brookings in investigating and prosecuting drug cases. Meetings to discuss funding crisis: Reedsport - 7 p.m. Tuesday, Reedsport High School auditorium Coquille - 6:30 p.m. Nov. 27, Lions Club meeting, Colleen's Restaurant, Public invited. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager