OK TO TARGET BUSES

Since he was found with a bag of cocaine in his jacket, pleaded
guilty and is in prison, there is little doubt that Rawle McIntosh
was involved in the drug trade. But the question before the state
Court of Appeals is whether the Albany County Sheriff's Department
should have been looking for the drugs in the first place.

They were looking on a bus, on which McIntosh was a passenger, and
which had just arrived from New York City. Police activities at the
Albany bus station have long been controversial and the subject of
lawsuits, with activists charging racial profiling. McIntosh's lawyer
is trying to get his conviction overturned on the grounds that the
bus station interdictions are unconstitutional.

The trouble is, as the McIntosh case demonstrates, those searches are
often successful. Sheriff's Department Inspector John Burke, who runs
the narcotics unit, was quoted in Sunday's Gazette as saying: "Buses
from New York City are targeted because it's the biggest source of
narcotics, and buses are the safest, cheapest and most convenient
mode of transportation. There is no showing ID to get a ticket."
Police typically board the buses, announce their presence and look
for suspicious conduct, such as McIntosh and his companion trying to
hide the jacket that turned out to contain cocaine.

McIntosh's lawyer argued that police should not board a bus just
because it comes from New York City. But the fact is, as police are
well aware, a high proportion of the Capital Region's illegal drugs
does come from New York, and they are often brought up by bus. That's
why police target the bus station, and make a lot of arrests there.
To do otherwise would be to let more drugs into this area, and worsen
the crime problem, especially in cities such as Albany and
Schenectady.