Pubdate: Fri, 13 Jul 2012
Source: East Valley Tribune (AZ)
Copyright: 2012 East Valley Tribune.
Contact: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/opinion/submit_a_letter/
Website: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2708
Author: Bill Richardson
Note: Retired Mesa master police officer Bill Richardson lives in the 
East Valley.

TARGETING ADDICTS THE MORE EFFECTIVE WAY TO REDUCE CRIME IN OUR CITIES

"We've cut off the head of the snake. This definitely makes it a lot 
harder for our children and residents to get drugs. We can go out all 
day and arrest people with marijuana or a sixteenth of an ounce of 
meth. Or we can go out and do an investigation like this for six 
months and affect thousands of people." -- Tempe police Lt. Noah 
Johnson, East Valley Tribune story Tempe part of major drug bust 
connected to Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, July 6, 2012

On July 6 at a press conference Tempe police announced with the help 
of the Drug Enforcement Administration they'd busted 20 members of 
the Sinaloa Drug Cartel who'd been running drugs out of a residence 
near a Tempe police station. Police said the lengthy investigation 
resulted in 14 warrants served statewide and the seizure of $2.4 
million dollars, 3 tons of marijuana, 30 pounds of meth, 14 guns, 10 
vehicles and one airplane.

This is Tempe's third case since 2009 against the global Sinaloa 
cartel that's considered the biggest and baddest in the world. Its 
leader Joaquin Guzman is on Forbe's list of billionaires. Guzman 
controls drugs in Arizona, the state he's made a major transshipment 
in his hemispheric supply chain.

While the latest Tempe bust sounds like it might impact "thousands of 
people," the feds estimate Mexican drug traffickers generate $20-$40 
billion dollars annually from U.S. drug sales. Heroin production in 
2009 was estimated at 110,000 pounds. Marijuana production is 
measured in the tens of thousands of tons. Drug availability, 
production and demand are up. A 2012 story in the Texas Tribune said 
"Mexican traffickers make $5 billion annually from meth."

The May 22 edition of insightcrime.com reported Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement Special Agent Matthew Allen testified before 
Congress, "approximately 23 percent of the narcotics and 
approximately 53 percent of the currency" linked to the drug trade 
and seized by ICE officials came from Arizona last fiscal year.

Unfortunately, the proverbial snake Johnson mentions has thousands of 
heads. There's nothing in my 20 years working drug investigations or 
anything I can find that tells me this bust will "make it a lot 
harder to get drugs."

Thousands of people, many of whom are associated with Arizona's 
massive gang and career criminal population, work for the Sinaloans 
delivering an uninterrupted supply of dope to buyers. Police 
officials love to tough talk after a drug bust. I've heard the same 
spiel for decades and all I can see that's changed is Mexico-based 
drug businesses have gone from mom-and-pop operations to global 
criminal enterprises -- and Arizona has become an illegal drug 
super-store. Big busts haven't solved or even slowed the crime that's 
linked to heroin and meth addicts.

Cops from across the state told me addicts commit as much as 85 
percent to 90 percent of Arizona's burglaries and thefts, and many 
criminals are high on heroin or meth when they commit armed robberies 
and murders. Most are career criminals. Many have warrants for their arrest.

Over a quarter of a million serious felony crimes were committed in 
Arizona during 2010. About 20 percent were solved. While not 
politically correct, the one thing that has proven to reduce crime is 
targeting addicts for arrest. Targeting users has been highly 
successful in reducing DUI related accidents.

The Arizona Republic reported on Jan. 25, 2012 that "Mesa police 
reported a 34 percent increase in drug arrests during the past two 
years." Mesa targets addicts who commit crimes. Its crime rate is 
almost 20 points lower than Tempe's.

Should Tempe police leave the Sinaloa Cartel to the DEA and ICE and 
concentrate on addicts with a "sixteenth ounce of meth" who are 
responsible for most serious crime? We can argue all day about what 
to do about America's ongoing drug problems.

But the one thing we do know for sure is when addicts who commit 
crimes are locked up, they're not committing crimes in our cities.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom