Pubdate: Wed, 31 Jul 2002 Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA) Copyright: 2002 San Francisco Examiner Contact: http://www.examiner.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/389 Author: Nick Driver, Of The Examiner Staff Note: The Associated Press contributed to this story. DRUG WAR TAKES BACK SEAT AT FBI The national war on terrorism is killing local cops' ability to combat rising drug-related homicides, drug agents and police say. On Tuesday, FBI Director Robert Mueller went to Capitol Hill to pry more FBI resources away from the drug war so he can direct them at counterterrorism efforts. "We will still participate but with fewer resources," Mueller said. Local (police) are very concerned about the shift, said DEA spokesman Thomas Hinojosa, adding that the DEA would "pick up the slack" from the approximately 400 FBI agents -- of 11,324 total -- who are being reassigned away from drug enforcement. But he said that DEA director Asa Hutchinson had not requested more funds from Congress to replace the FBI agents, saying "you may see a lull until things become more permanent." That lull could lead to more local killings if recent trends continue: the shrinking number of FBI agents has led to a spike in drug-related violent crimes. San Francisco has recorded 28 murders through June (the latest statistics), six more than the same period last year, a 27 percent increase. Oakland's drug-related homicides are up more, leading Mayor Jerry Brown to push through an emergency tax plan for 100 more police officers, as well as drug prevention programs. "The FBI's priority is the war on terrorism, and Northern California has been affected," said Richard Meyer, a spokesman for DEA's Northern California division. "Drug trafficking and violence go hand in hand." "All drive-by shootings are caused by drug wars," Meyer said, noting San Francisco's ethnic diversity has contributed to its "really good drug mix." The diverse number of drugs and ethnic diversity of drug smugglers adds even more difficulty and pressure to the job, Meyer said, rattling off a smorgasbord of drugs that pass into or through San Francisco: Southeast Asian heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy and marijuana. Mueller's comments, which came at the 20th anniversary celebration for the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force, followed statements by Attorney General John Ashcroft reaffirming that the drug war would be reorganized but not abandoned. But local Drug Enforcement Agency and San Francisco Police Department officials say Ashcroft's rhetoric -- he promised that "we will defeat drugs" -- means nothing without warriors in the field. - --- MAP posted-by: Ariel