Pubdate: Wed, 11 Jun 2008
Source: Billings Gazette, The (MT)
Copyright: 2008 The Billings Gazette
Contact:  http://www.billingsgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/515
Author: Zach Benoit, Of The Gazette Staff

POLICE SEEK HELP IN FIGHTING DRUG ABUSE

Yellowstone County law enforcement officials Tuesday evening 
encouraged residents to take action in drug prevention and education.

At the fourth annual Education and Action Meth Conference, U.S. 
Marshal Dwight MacKay, Yellowstone County District Attorney Dennis 
Paxinos, Billings Police Chief Rich St. John and Yellowstone County 
Undersheriff Jay Bell held a panel discussion with several dozen 
community members on drug enforcement in the county.

Methamphetamine is the No. 1 drug problem in Billings, St. John said, 
and local, state and federal agencies have been working together for 
several years to curb drug-related crimes in Montana. In 2007, task 
forces made up of police, sheriffs, U.S. Marshals and other agencies 
seized in Yellowstone County more than 3 pounds of meth. They have 
seized about 1.13 pounds of the drug so far in 2008.

Attendees were presented with an array of stats about the use of meth 
and other drugs in Yellowstone County. Bell said 70 to 80 percent of 
the inmates at the county jail are either there because of drugs or 
have substance abuse problems. He said the jail offers treatment 
services and has contracted with Rimrock Foundation to send some 
low-risk inmates to treatment facilities. MacKay said about 
three-quarters of the inmates in federal custody from Yellowstone 
County are in on meth-related charges. However, Montana's drug 
problem is not only the responsibility of law enforcement, Paxinos 
said. The effects of meth reach far into the community, from kids in 
schools to the economy to families of people with drug convictions.

"It's a societal thing," Paxinos said. "We have to address it and 
take community action."

The panel recommended that parents get involved early and often in 
educating children about the dangers of drugs, especially meth.

High schools and middle schools throughout the county have school 
resource officers to provide education, St. John said, but there 
isn't the manpower to assign an officer to every elementary. MacKay 
said that is an excellent opportunity for parents and concerned 
residents to take the time to educate themselves and then, in turn, 
go to the elementary schools to educate children.

"Take our communities back and help police the police," he said.

The drug unit in Yellowstone County is part of a federal program to 
coordinate drug enforcement efforts among local, state and federal 
agencies called High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas. The 
Yellowstone County unit works with the Rocky Mountain HIDTA, which 
covers Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah.

"It's really a combined effort," Bell said.

Much of the efforts through HIDTA focus on arresting mid-to 
high-level dealers with the intention of prosecuting them on the 
federal level, which has established mandatory minimum sentences for 
drug traffickers.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom