CHIEF CONFIDENT OF RESULTS IN DRUG FIGHT Rutland City's police chief says an infusion of $60,000 for drug enforcement work will translate into more arrests. Chief Anthony Bossi said Tuesday that efforts would begin immediately to attack the city's drug problem, which is being blamed, in part, for the murders of three Rutland residents. There has been a strong public reaction to the brutal slaying of three people last week. Mayor John Cassarino responded by pledging to earmark $60,000 in private and public funds to combat the city's growing drug problem. Relatives and friends of the victims spoke passionately Monday evening at a meeting of the city's Board of Aldermen, demanding action from local and state elected officials. To fight the drug problem, Bossi said he needed more officers on patrol and more police hours to follow up on leads in drug cases. Until now, Bossi said, he couldn't afford to do that. Now, thanks to $20,000 from private businesses, $20,000 from the city's settlement with mall developer Damian Zamias and a likely $20,000 grant from the state's Department of Public Safety, he can move forward. "Being proactive means being out there," Bossi said Tuesday. And, he said, the money will produce results. With increased attention on the drug problem, the chief said, it's possible the number of burglaries and armed robberies will go down. "I can't think of any recent burglaries or armed robberies that weren't related to drugs," he said. Bossi said there was a direct link between an increase in property crimes and an increase in drug use. The crimes, he said, were desperate acts by desperate people. Just since July 1, Bossi said, the city has experienced a whopping 60-80 percent increase over the 1999 total of burglaries, break-ins and other thefts. And it's seen a sharp increase in heroin use and arrests. With more officers on patrol more often, Bossi said, police will be able to devote more attention to local drug users and dealers. While the department will use some undercover patrols, the police chief said he would stop short of forming a separate drug task force. The department will, however, continue to work with the Southern Vermont Drug Task Force. Officers from a number of departments make up the task force, including one officer from Rutland City. These officers devote their time solely to drug investigations. Drug task forces are a good way for smaller police departments to target drug problems, according to James O'Kane, a criminology and urban crime expert at Drew University in Madison, N.J. "If a police force is limited, creating a task force could help enormously in zeroing in on drugs like heroin," he said. "It helps because it focuses in on the problem, rather than making it one of many." O'Kane said finding out where the drugs are coming from is also an important part of the investigative process. Bossi said the existing regional task force works with other task forces in and out of Vermont, trading and gathering information on dealers who are crossing state lines. He said he would like to hire a couple of officers to work solely on drug investigations, but first he needs to get his department back at full strength. The department should have 38 full-time officers, but Bossi said they are three officers short right now. The department needs both full-time and part-time officers. "We're always in the hiring process," he said. Two officers are out with knee injuries, he said, and he's not sure when they'll be back full time. Bossie said the department was also hurt by the loss of two dispatchers last year. Prior to the budget cuts, there were two dispatchers on at all times; now there's only one dispatcher at any given time. "It's hard because the officers have to be the backup for them, and that takes them off the street," he said. Bossi said he couldn't predict how long the $60,000 would last the department. Drug investigations take a long time, he said. First police have to identify possible drug dealers, then begin the arduous process of surveillance and evidence-gathering. "It's an ongoing process," he said. Public sentiment at the aldermen's meeting seemed to be that $60,000 was a drop in the bucket. But Bossi said he believed it would make a very real difference to local law enforcement efforts. The aldermen unanimously approved spending $20,000 from the Zamias fund on the effort. Local business leader John Russell already had $11,000 pledged from private sources by noon on Monday and was confident he would have the full $20,000 within a week, Cassarino said. The city was going to apply immediately for the $20,000 in state funds. Bossi was ready to start spending Tuesday. He said the increased efforts in drug enforcement would begin immediately, and there would be results. "We'll be making more arrests."
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