Pubdate: Sat, 05 Mar 2005
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)
Copyright: 2005 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Contact:  http://www.jsonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/265
Author: Dan Benson

COUNTIES TO MERGE DRUG UNITS

Group Will Be One Of The Largest In The State

Law enforcement officials in Racine, Kenosha, Walworth, Jefferson and
Dodge counties have agreed to merge their anti-drug task forces,
creating one of the largest regional units in Wisconsin.Advertisement

The move is being urged upon them by the state, but local officials
say it reflects their already close working relationship and will
greatly aid their efforts to fight illegal drug trafficking in their
communities.

Walworth County Sheriff David Graves said formation of the new group
"is not a real huge leap because we all work together now and cross
over into each others' jurisdictions."

"Basically it makes it a little more formal and will probably enhance
the way we do our job," Graves said.

"It will put more officers in contact with each other and hopefully
put more officers on the street," he added.

Officials in the five counties agreed to the merger on Thursday.

The impetus for the merger was a warning from the state's Office of
Justice Assistance, part of the state Department of Justice, to local
anti-drug task forces that federal funding for their operations was
going to dry up if they didn't merge operations.

For the last year and a half, the state has offered financial
incentives to counties to merge their anti-drug task forces as a way
of reducing costs and increasing effectiveness, said Ray Luick,
director of justice programs for the Office of Justice Assistance.

The bulk of funding for local anti-drug units comes from local
governments. But some of the funds come from the federal Edward Byrne
Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Grant Program -
Byrne grants - created as part of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.

Byrne grant funds "have been diminishing quite rapidly" in recent
years, Luick said.

>From 2002 through 2005, Byrne funds earmarked for Wisconsin anti-drug
efforts totaled about $4 million a year. In 2006, however, only $2
million is being made available through the program. In 2007, the
funding is expected to be eliminated.

Large population covered

There are about 30 drug task forces in the state currently, including
the newly merged one.

Luick said the merging of the five county groups is an exciting
development.

"This will be a fairly large area geographically and a very large
area, population-wise," he said.

Larger regional anti-drug task forces exist in other parts of the
state, but the newly merged group covers a much larger population, he
said.

Kenosha County Sheriff David G. Beth's department will be the lead
agency for the group in 2005, with the administrative duties rotating
among the departments from year to year.

Beth said advantages of the merger include "a little more funding, a
few more resources will be made available to the counties, and
additional manpower will be there if there is a need all in one day."

"The biggest advantage is the sharing of information," said Chief
Deputy Blaine Lauersdorf of the Dodge County Sheriff's Department. He
lauded the effort as "getting everybody working off the same sheet of
music."

"This type of crime knows no geographical boundaries," Lauersdorf
said. He added that drug cases his department had been involved in
"started in Dodge and have ended up in La Crosse, Madison and Oshkosh.
It's good that we're doing something now to become more uniform and
are sharing information that will help the cause."

The state has offered Washington County $40,000 to merge its drug unit
with Ozaukee County's, to which the state offered $30,000.

Ozaukee County Sheriff Maury Straub and county chiefs of police
rejected the offer, saying they feared a loss of local control if they
merged anti-drug operations with Washington County.

Beth said no such fears were expressed in the new group.

"We will still be in control of our own jurisdictions. This will
enhance our ability to serve our communities," Beth said.

Washington County Sheriff Brian Rahn and Washington County police
chiefs favor the merger with Ozaukee County.

In Milwaukee County, sheriff's personnel are assigned to three
anti-drug units, one of which is the Metro Drug Unit that includes
personnel from police departments in West Allis, Milwaukee, South
Milwaukee and Glendale.

A Waukesha County sheriff's spokesman said there are no plans on
merging its drug unit with any others.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin