Pubdate: Wed, 01 Oct 2003 Source: West Hawaii Today (HI) Contact: 2003 West Hawaii Today Website: http://westhawaiitoday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/644 Author: Karen Iwamoto, West Hawaii Today Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Note: To read about the "ice epidemic" in Hawaii, go to http://www.mapinc.org/areas/Hawaii . POLICE SEE ICE EFFORTS STARTING TO PAY OFF Police have been pouring resources into fighting the ice (crystal methamphetamine) epidemic in West Hawaii and say they are starting to see results. "The feedback we're getting from some of the people we arrested (for drug possession) is that a lot of the dealers are more leery than in the past," said Lt. Robert Hickcox, who oversees the West Hawaii Vice Section. "They're not selling as openly as before and they're more cautious about who they're selling to." Police are serving more search warrants on residences where suspected drug activity is occurring, he said, adding specific statistics are not available. However, he did say 95 percent of the cases that cross his desk are ice related. And it's been that way for several years, he said. Because of the overwhelming case load, Vice Section officers are often assisted by Kona community police officers, and state and federal law enforcement personnel. "It's part of a continuing effort between community police officers and vice to combat ice," said Acting Sgt. Stan Haanio, who oversees the Kona Community Police Officers. "The vice officers are really busy with their cases," Haanio said. "Community police officers are supposed to be a liaison to their communities. So if my community keeps calling and asking what we're doing about this we got to do something about it." Hickcox said he expects to see more results when the West Hawaii Ice Task Force is fully staffed - probably within the next month. A sergeant has been dedicated to the task force but two officers still need to be assigned, he said. "We really could have used an ice task force three years ago when we started noticing this thing becoming a problem," he said. But he remains optimistic. "You gotta be," he said. "You gotta be. But in all honesty, I think we are making some progress. I see what they're doing in Honolulu and its all stuff we were already doing three years ago. So I think in that aspect we have a head start over them." - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk