SEIZED DRUG ASSETS FUND SCHOLARSHIPS

Camden County Sheriff's Department honors fallen officers by giving
$250,000 to schools.

A sheriff's department is taking assets from busted drug dealers to
educate law enforcement officers.

In 15 years, observant deputies who patrol Interstate 95 have seized
more than $14 million in drug money from traffickers who carry their
illegal contraband through Camden County. In 1998 the department
seized an unprecedented $3 million in one week.

"I-95 is called the cocaine corridor because it runs from Miami to
New York," said sheriff's department spokesman William Terrell."
Sometimes we'll catch them when they say they've been on vacation for
two weeks and they don't have any clothes in their car."

As all that confiscated money began to pile up, Camden County Sheriff
Bill Smith started coming up with creative ways to put it to use.
This year the department used $250,000 to set up scholarships at
Coastal Georgia Community College and Georgia Southern, Armstrong
Atlantic State and Valdosta State universities.

The money, which can be used for tuition, books, room and board, will
be awarded to needy students with a minimum 2. 5 grade point average
who are studying criminal justice and planning careers in law
enforcement.

"One $2,600 scholarship will be awarded each year to youth in need or
at risk," said Christine Rudowise, coordinator of Georgia Southern's
justice studies program. "This will help bring some diversity to our
program and it will help us fulfill our mission."

Georgia Southern will begin offering the scholarship during the
2002-2003 academic year.

GSU's justice studies program enrolls about 290 students. The degree
allows students to broaden their perspectives and understand the
policies and laws they will someday have to enforce, Rudowise said.

Many departments don't require their officers to hold an academic
degree, but it is becoming more common as law enforcement agencies
strive to be more professional, according to Terrell. Camden County
Sheriff Bill Smith holds a degree from the Citadel.

"We want to encourage people to pursue law enforcement careers and we
also want them to pursue an education," Terrell said.