NEW LAW GIVES LOCAL COPS MOST OF DRUG HAUL

80% Of Proceeds From Busts Will Go Back To Front Lines

JACKSON -Local sheriffs say a new state law will energize the fight to make
Mississippi streets drug-free.

In a Capitol press conference on Monday, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove said the
legislation changes the way money and property seized in drug busts is
distributed among state agencies.

Under a nearly 30-year-old law, the state's Bureau of Narcotics has kept
the bulk of proceeds from narcotics cases they cracked using the help of
local law enforcement officials.

The new law reverses that setup, sending 80 percent of jointly recovered
proceeds directly back to the front lines.

Don Strange, director of the Bureau of Narcotics, said the law will pump
resources into smaller counties and give law enforcement agencies an
incentive to work together.

Strange said that under the current arrangement, local officials know that
if they work a case with the Bureau of Narcotics that brings in $40,000,
the Bureau gets 80 percent, leaving only $8,000 to split among assisting
agencies.

Working together is a must in narcotics cases, he said, and once the small
pot of money diverted to local agencies is split several ways, "there's not
enough money left for these men to do what they need to do to support their
programs."

Musgrove touted an 18-month methamphetamine investigation that ended last
week when the Bureau of Narcotics arrested 30 suspects and shut down drug
labs in several counties.

Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies were involved, he said.

"Criminals have tight bonds and they work together and move
systematically," said Musgrove, who was flanked by sheriffs and a police
chief. "This is why we have to make the bonds between our agencies even
stronger to work as a single unit against crime."

Claiborne County Sheriff Frank Davis said he could use the additional cash
to set up a special drug account. It would be tapped to pay for information
leading to arrests, overtime for officers working intense narcotics cases,
and an attorney to jump through the legal hoops required to seize drug
dealers' property.

From the Harrison County jail, Sheriff George Payne called the law a "good
move" that could mean tens of thousands of dollars for the county each year.

"Just about on a daily basis, drug arrests are made where sums of cash are
confiscated," Payne said. "It's only right that the majority goes back to
the local agencies that are handling the cases."

The bill takes effect on July 1.