DRUGS BLAMED FOR STEADY RATE OF HOMICIDES IN MILWAUKEE

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- For a third consecutive year more than 120 homicides have
occurred in the city, and officials point to the role of illegal drugs in
poor neighborhoods as a big reason the trend has continued.

As of Sunday Milwaukee had recorded 127 homicides in 2001, compared with
121 for all of last year.

"We have to continue to work out strategies and methodologies to deal with
this low-level drug trade, almost street-level drug trade," Police Chief
Arthur Jones said. "It's these small amounts of drugs that people are
killing each other for and over."

He said while illegally obtained guns are sometimes to blame, the bigger
problem is "often dealing with the implications of drug markets and poor
neighborhood economies overcome by those markets."

David Williams, who headed the FBI's Wisconsin operations for 2 1/2 years
before retiring last month, said he was frustrated by the bureau's
inability to eradicate drug trafficking.

He said a relatively small portion of the city of Milwaukee "is responsible
for over half the homicides in the entire state of Wisconsin." Williams
said the key to cutting down homicides will be targeting gangs.

"It's really simple. Identify the bad guys and their associates. Remove
them from the equation. And reseed those neighborhoods with solid economic
opportunities," he said. "Only then, in my opinion, will Milwaukee begin to
see these homicides fall."