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RICHARDSON: POLICE NEED TO DEVELOP NEW TACTIC TO FIGHT DRUG TRAFFICKING

The Tempe Police Department announced yet another big drug bust involving Mexican drug cartels.  This has to be the third or fourth announcement by police touting monumental success in the "war on drugs." Police told the media the "30-month investigation that resulted in the dismantling of what investigators described as an extensive drug trafficking network that stretched from Sinoloa, Mexico, to Phoenix, Los Angeles and Indianapolis."

After being involved in the "war on drugs" for the majority of my police and post retirement career investigating drugs and drug use for a major international corporation, my opinion of local law enforcement mounting time and cost consuming operations on major drug trafficking organizations based in Mexico, or any other country, is somewhat low.  Drugs are here and they aren't going away, not now, not ever.  I don't care how many flashy and boastful press releases the police make.

While the police were slapping themselves on the back over the arrest of 77 defendants during the nearly three-year investigation, one can only imagine how many packets of heroin were peddled on the streets of Tempe that were purchased with proceeds from the city's nearly 10,000 burglaries, robberies and thefts.  The Tempe PD and the U.  S.  Drug Enforcement Administration aren't going to stop or even slow the flood of drugs into the United States, Arizona and even Tempe.  I don't care how many millions police spend to try and accomplish it.

The big bust phenomenon favored by some in law enforcement has been around forever.  I've heard claims of dismantling networks, cutting off the head of the snake, and any number of other bold claims that suggest a war-like win over crime.  Yet in the 40 plus years I've been around the drug business, the bad guys are kicking our butts, their wealth has exploded and there will never be a law enforcement operation that dismantles an extensive drug trafficking network.

The use of local law enforcement resources chasing drug dealers in Mexico and around the country is highly questionable, especially when a community has a serious violent and property crime rate and the interdiction of drugs somewhere else will have no impact on crime in their jurisdiction.

One could ask why local police didn't launch an ongoing undercover buy and bust operation that continually targets local criminal addicts, their low-level suppliers, gang members and career criminals that commit the majority of the serious crime?

Busting those who commit the actual property and violent crime has been proven the most effective way to manage and even slow serious crime in a community, not chasing the big bust and headlines.  Drug enforcement in a community like Tempe that has a long history involving drugs and gangs is only one part of an anti-crime strategy that must include education, awareness and on-demand treatment for addiction.  Throwing people in jail only solves the problem in the short-term.

While it's not as sexy to talk about treating addicts who commit crime to support their addiction, we all know fewer addicts stealing and robbing means fewer crimes and fewer victims.  With the exploding use of prescription painkillers and the extremely potent black tar heroin that's produced by the ton in Mexico, Tempe and other jurisdictions would be wise to look at enforcement as a part of working to manage their drug problem.  Addiction is an illness that can lead to criminal activity and an illness that can be prevented and treated.

Big busts and the accompanying press conferences with the police patting themselves on the back aren't going to solve the crime problems that continue to plague a community like Tempe.  They never have and they never will.

The time has come to take a new approach to dealing with illegal drugs and the crimes that accompany their use, especially at the local level.  The war on drugs was lost years ago.  Now we need a war on addiction, if we're really serious about dugs and crime.