Pubdate: 12 Oct 1997 Source: The Tennessean (Nashville) Page: 1 Contact: Your coworker may be undercover narc Hired guns go to work to help catch drug abusers By Michael Davis Staff writer Attention, workplace drug abusers. That friendly colleague who may clock in with you, clock out with you, party with you, and even ask to buy some of your personal stash of weed may not be a friend at all. She may be a narc for hire. "It surprised me," said Jeff Bond, an 11year employee of Warren County auto interior manufacturer Findlay Industries, where an undercover operation last summer netted nine arrests. "People took it hard. They were in a state of shock." Increasingly, companies concerned about illegal substance use and the costs associate with it are supplementing their wars on drugs with hired guns: security firms that place undercover agents into the client's work force to sniff around for drugs on the job. At least two of the nation's major corporate security firms routinely run such operations in Middle Tennessee. One already has a Nashville office; another is considering it, in response to growing interest. Union leaders, worker advocates and civil libertarians, perhaps not surprisingly, are uneasy with the practice, saying it smacks of a "Big Brother" mentality and can lead to low worker morale. "We're not creating a supportive environment for workers to be productive and respected within that workplace," said Hedy Weinberg, state director of the American Civil Liberties Union. "We're creating suspicion and lack of trust." But those in the industry insist the operations are effective, perfectly legal and in demand. "The workplace is the last frontier. You have a large group of people, it's safe, you won't be ripped off and they have money. It's virtually a secure market for drugs," said Charles Carroll, chief executive of Dayton, Ohiobased ASET Corp., which ran the Findlay investigation. "Even when we aren't looking to buy, they're knocking down the door trying to sell to my agents." Undercover operations Security firms would not reveal exactly where and when they are operating. But industry leaders such as ASET, Encino, Calif.based Pinkerton's and Wackenhut Corp, of Palm Beach, Fla., run growing drug intervention businesses, ranging from employee tip hot lines and surveillance to onsite, undercover operations. Pinkerton's has had a Nashville office since it bought a local company in 1991, and officials say they continue to do work for Midstate clients. ASET claims to have 75100 investigations continuing nationwide at any given time; Carroll said they, too, are presently running operations in Middle Tennessee, and that demand is high enough that they may also open a Nashville office. Since ASET has placed agents at General Motors auto plants including facilities in Baltimore and Wilmington, Del., where more than three dozen drug arrests have been made this year one possible local target could be the Saturn Corp. plant in Spring Hill. Officials for the automaker, which uses Wackenhut for its uniformed security, would not comment on whether they have hired or would hire them, ASET or similar companies for undercover investigation. Security firms stress that drugs are only one of a menu of internal problems they address, including arson, theft of property, and trade secrets, industrial sabotage, and abuse and discrimination. But drug use often prompts other crime. Workers may steal from their employers, for example, to feed a habit. And investigators say it usually doesn't take long for a drug supplier to pop up. "I know of an operation where an individual went into an orientation program with a bunch of new employees, and someone offered to sell him drugs during the orientation," said Tom Newkirk, a former FBI agent and senior managing director of Pinkerton's Nashville office. Stoned on the job Data suggests that the frequency and stakes of workplace drug use are rising. In a 1995 study, the Institute for a DrugFree Workplace found that 37% of workers surveyed believed that workplace drug problems had increased over the previous five years. More than one in three had personally seen or heard of onthejob drug use by colleagues up from fewer than one in four in 1989. And the proportion offered drugs to use on the job was about even, at 11%. A report the same year by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration showed that among employed adults, nearly 6% of fulltimers and almost 10% of parttimers were illicit drug users. Newkirk himself cites an admittedly extreme case within the last tow years of a Middle Tennessee plant where nearly three in four of one shift's staff were stoned on the job. "When people ask me about it, I cut them short. There are no ifs, ands or buts: It's a major workplace issue," said Daryl Grecich, spokesman for Institute for a DrugFree Workplace." If you have 100 employees, there's a good chance that at least five to six of them are dealing or using." Meanwhile, employers especially manufacturing plants with dangerous heights, extreme heat, or heavy equipment that could crush an employee like a grape are growing more concerned about costs due to impairment, and their own liability in the event of a drugrelated accident. A 1991 study suggested that drug abuse costs U.S. businesses $75 billion in lost productivity, sick time, health care and other expenses. "I think we're kidding ourselves that those issues just leave themselves outside our office doors," said Barry Lawrence of the Society for Human Resources Management, a trade group for personnel professionals. "They do come inside and can create quite a few problems." Another challenge: The current labor shortage. Record low unemployment and the competitive market for employees have left a pool of less desirable workers, some of whom may have drug problems. Some companies, in fact, are so desperate that they are lowering or even eliminating preemployment drugscreening standards, meaning that some probably slip through. "Employers couldn't afford to get rid of all the employees who have problems," Carroll said. Even if a company seeks help, security consultants say that an undercover investigation is usually the last resort. Many companies start with education and employee assistance programs. Some operators first set up tollfree employee tip lines to report workplace abuses, or do site surveillance to try to catch workers in the act. "That's cleaner," said Patrick Cannan or Wackenhut, which typically prefers what it calls "silent witness" or "concerned employee action" telephone lines. "Undercover people are only a part of our business of uniformed security officers. It's ancillary to it." How it works But once the client has decided that other methods are not succeeding, the undercover work begins. A local prosecutor is typically notified on the front end, to ensure a case will be pursued and that the agent will serve as a witness at any subsequent trial. Arrangements must be made for surveillance, either in person or electronically, in the event of any drug purchases. The investigator must also agree to hand off any evidence gathered as soon as possible, usually at the end of the work shift. The bogus workers women as well as men, with the numbers determined by the client are "hired" by the client and begin insinuating themselves into the work force, socializing with employees both on the job and off the clock. Eventually, they ease their way toward those workers who may be using, buying or selling drugs. The laundry list of available substances runs the spectrum from marijuana, methamphetamine, and cocaine, to prescription drugs and heroin. And operators admit that interacting often means coming into close contact with the very contraband the company is trying to eliminate. Pinkerton's agents try to avoid even the simulation of use, according to Newkirk, by concocting lies about why they will not imbibe: Threat of a drug test, fear of an interaction with some prescription medication, or saying they are only interested in buying for a friend. When the situation demands, ASET agents must simulate illegal activities realistically enough to mislead their marks, while remaining credible if the case ever gets to court. "I wouldn't want to give away trade secrets and tell the bad guys what to look for, but if you're out there playing a role for eight months, you're going to have to convince people you're a user," Carroll said. Multiple agents at one workplace nay not even know about each other. All invent a cover story, usually a variation of their actual life, and stick to it religiously. "You have to do your homework and you have to have instincts," Newkirk said. "It takes a different breed of individual to do this." Once enough evidence is gathered, law enforcement can sweep in and make arrests. The employer decides what action will be taken against those who have been caught. By definition, the investigations are not shortterm deals. All will run for several months; ASET claims none will last any shorter than six months, and many top 18 months, especially if they continue to turn up new offenders. The cost can easily brush six figures, and clients have been known to order investigations restarted immediately, even after a bust is made. Entrapment? Results of stings are difficult to quantify. Pinkerton's and Wackenhut would not discuss their success rates, or even the number of investigations they have completed. ASET claims 100,000 fired and tens of thousands jailed as a result of more than 4,000 operations since 1981. The most obvious criticism of internal security is that it qualifies as entrapment, and that agents may actually be creating crime rather than stopping it. But in a legal sense, only law enforcement officials can entrap a suspect. As employees of a private company, corporate security agents are exempt from the same standards. Prosecutors say their main value is in gathering information, and to serve as witnesses in court. "It's something they had in place, and that was going on without our knowledge. They came to us and said, 'here's what we've done,' we agreed to prosecute," said Bill Locke, Warren County district attorney who oversaw the Findlay Industries case. "I think it was probably a worthwhile endeavor." And because their credibility will be subject to such scrutiny, private companies go out of their way to be sure the cases are strong. "It's tough for a guy to scream entrapment when he deals to you 10 times," Carroll said. "The argument, 'You enticed me,' is a little weak." In the Findlay bust, Locke said, the female agent had recordings of buys. Nine suspects were ultimately arrested; Locke said all pleaded guilty to charges of misdemeanor possession and received sentences from probation to 90 days. Several of the plant's 500 workers were fired after the investigation, not all for drug offenses. Findlay management refused to comment on the case "until all related matters have been resolved," according to officials. A matter of trust Critics complain that, legal or not, the practice in some ways simply does not demonstrate a minimum level of trust between employer and employee. Weinberg warned that workers on the job must always be guaranteed the same presumption of innocence, protection from illegal searches and other rights that they are guaranteed as U.S. citizens. Some of the workers fired from Findlay in connection with the investigation have filed union grievances against the company, according to plant labor leaders. Although the procedures are continuing, organizers said they want to be certain that the operation does not violate the contract clause that requires due process before an employee is terminated. "We don't condone drug use on the job, or workers being impaired. But I'm kind of weighing the issue there," said Brad Rayson, Tennessee director for the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees. "How far do an employers' rights go vs. employees' rights?" Grecich said the Institute for a DrugFree Workplace itself will not take a stance on undercover tactics and will only endorse employers' rights to eliminate substance abuse on the job.