Pubdate: Mon, 22 May 2006
Source: Pensacola News Journal (FL)
Copyright: 2006 The Pensacola News Journal
Contact:  http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1675

TASK FORCE ARRESTS REFLECT UNRELENTING WAR ON DRUGS

Two major drug busts within the past two months in the area reflect 
two certainties: cocaine trafficking and consumption still abound, 
and law enforcement officers working hard to rein in on the activity 
continue to need the public's support.

Both police operations -- one that went down in early April in 
Pensacola, and the other that took place last week in Milton -- 
involved task forces composed of multiple local, county and state law 
enforcement agencies. And each resulted in the impoundment at least 
$100,000 in drugs, guns and cash.

The two law enforcement actions, coupled with local and state 
drug-education programs aimed at school-age youngsters, provide 
exactly the kind of two-pronged approach the Pensacola Bay Area needs 
to show that officials and the law-abiding public mean business when 
it comes to no tolerance for drug abusers.

Unfortunately, the downside of enforcing drug laws is the immense 
cost. To be successful, anti-drug task force operations consume many 
man hours and much expense -- diverting tax dollars away from other 
needs in the community, such as health care for the indigent, housing 
assistance, job-training programs and rehabilitation efforts for 
those who get hooked on illegal drugs in the first place.

Moreover, the investigation and resulting arrests constitute only 
part of the expense of carrying out this war. The costs of 
adjudication, sentencing and imprisonment follow.

The upside of policing drug activities is that the arrests of the 
suspects involved often cut down on other criminal activities such as 
assault, burglary, transportation of stolen property, gang activity, 
even rape and -- as suspected in the Santa Rosa bust -- drive-by shootings.

The continuing war against drug abuse is formidable. Studies by the 
National Institute on Drug Abuse indicate that in 2004, the most 
recent year for which statistics have been compiled, more than 34 
million Americans age 12 or older had used cocaine alone. Results of 
a 2005 study by the institute showed that cocaine use among 
youngsters appears to have leveled off. But still, an estimated 8 
percent of all U.S. high school seniors had experienced cocaine, 
while 4 percent had used crack cocaine (named for the sound its 
crystals make when heated).

Progress in the war could come faster if more people stepped forward 
to steer police toward criminal drug activity. However, most people 
don't want to "get involved" because snitches could face 
repercussions from the drug abusers and the abusers' friends -- or 
because the abusers are family members, and family "loyalty" trumps 
everything else.

Those contribute to the reasons it costs so much to pursue and 
prosecute those in the drug trade.

The men and women who put on badges and bring drug suspects to 
justice have earned public commendation. And today's reality is: The 
battle against illicit drugs likely will never end, as long as there 
is a criminal element among us. But the vast population of 
law-abiding citizens is grateful to those who take an oath and risk 
life and limb to keep society honest.
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