Pubdate: Sat, 30 Mar 2002 Source: Texarkana Gazette (TX) Copyright: 2002 Texarkana Gazette Contact: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/976 DRUGS AND BORDERS: TEXAS SIDE MUST WORK IN ARKANSAS TO BE EFFECTIVE Sometimes living on a state line is a curse rather than a virtue. Texas-side Police Chief Danny Alexander found that out recently when Texas cut grant funding for the city's narcotics task force. Why? Because, to be effective, the task force must share resources across the state line with its counterpart county in Arkansas. The Criminal Justice Division of the Texas governor's office has told Alexander that his department no longer is eligible for grants from the state because it doesn't operate its narcotics task force in the multicounty, multijurisdictional manner as prescribed by law. The problem is that the Texas side has worked closely with another county in trying to rid the area's streets of illegal drugs, but that county--Miller County--is in Arkansas, which makes the partnership invalid in the state's view. To restore funding, the Texas-side police department was told it would have to partner with an adjoining county in Texas. Which is understandable from a financial perspective. Texas obviously wants to put its taxpayers' money to work within the state and not across state lines. Yet this decision ignores Texarkana's unique geographical position and, as Alexander told the state, the illegal drug trade in Texarkana doesn't stop on either side of the two states' border. It is possible that the folks down in Austin just don't grasp this concept. Certainly it would make little sense for towns and cities deeper inside the state to be expending money across a state line when the drug connection might be tenuous at best. But that isn't the case in Texarkana. Criminal activity in Arkansas along its border with Texas often spills over the line, and that means the two states, two counties and two cities involved have to work together as a cohesive unit. Even though laws may differ from state to state, the emphasis remains on eliminating the illegal drug trade in the area. And that means from both sides of the line, not just one. For most cities in Texas, the state government's all-Texas approach to granting funds for narcotics task forces doesn't pose a significant problem. But in places like Texarkana, which must share and dedicate crime-fighting resources where they will do the most good, the law fails to acknowledge how intertwined the two cities are irrespective of their boundaries. As fiscally sensible as it is to expect Texas' money to be spent in Texas, it's nonsense to assume the local illegal drug trade stops at the state's border. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager