Pubdate: Mon, 02 Jun 2003
Source: Free Lance-Star, The (VA)
Copyright: 2003 The Free Lance-Star
Contact:  http://fredericksburg.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1065
Author: Donnie Johnston

CULPEPER IS CRACKING DOWN

Culpeper Says Dramatic Increase In Drug Arrests Is Result Of Tougher 
Enforcement

Culpeper town police attribute an almost 100 percent increase in drug 
arrests over the past two years to more aggressive enforcement, not a 
dramatic rise in the use of illegal substances.

"I think our success has a lot to do with our uniformed patrol officers 
being more alert for telltale signs of drug use during traffic stops," 
Chief Dan Boring said.

With a month still remaining in fiscal 2003, town police have made 164 
misdemeanor and felony drug arrests, almost double the number two years 
ago, Boring's first in office. That year, 89 arrests were made, while last 
year the number jumped to 163.

Almost all the arrests involved traffic stops, and the town's numbers do 
not include those of the Blue Ridge Drug Task Force.

While Boring praises patrol officers for their diligence, Lt. Rick Pinksaw 
thinks Boring deserves much of the credit.

"One of the first things Chief Boring did when he came here was to assign 
one person to work strictly as a K-9 officer," Pinksaw said. "Using that 
drug dog has led to many arrests."

Before Boring's arrival, the town force had a drug dog but his handler also 
had other duties. Under the new arrangement, the handler is almost always 
available.

The handler lives in town and is on call in the evening, so when an officer 
makes a traffic stop and his suspicions are aroused, the K-9 unit can be on 
the scene in minutes.

Results have been so positive that Boring has asked the Culpeper Town 
Council for money to bring in another dog and handler.

"The two major complaints we get in this office are about speeding and drug 
trafficking," he said. "We can put a man with radar out there and catch 
speeders, but it takes much more work to handle the drug problem."

Despite increased arrests, neither Boring nor Pinksaw thinks the drug 
problem is Culpeper has in-creased dramatically.

"I worked drug enforcement from 1995 to '99 and I see the problem as being 
about the same," Pinksaw said. Most of the arrests, he added, stem from the 
use and possession of crack cocaine and marijuana, which he calls 
"Culpeper's drugs of choice."

Given its proximity to Washington, Pinksaw doesn't see Culpeper's drug 
problem going away.

Boring said that when he came to Culpeper he realized more aggressive 
enforcement was needed to combat what he saw as "a fairly serious drug 
problem."

Just how bad is it?

"I don't think we're going to know that until we resolve it," Boring said.

"We've got a problem," Pinksaw said, "but we're addressing it as 
aggressively as possible."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom