EC POLICE DOUBLE NUMBER OF DRUG ARRESTS IN 2006

City police's crackdown on street-level dealers resulted a record
number of drug arrests in 2006, a police official said Friday.
Officers with the Elizabeth City Police Department arrested 655
persons on drug-related charges last year -- twice the number arrested
for drugs in 2005. Of the 655 total charges, 396 were for drug
possession, 196 were for possession of drug paraphernalia and 63 were
for false representation of drugs (passing off things like baby powder
and oregano for cocaine and marijuana).

Acting Police Chief G.F. Koch said the rise in charges came partly as
the result of a decision he made in June to dedicate more resources to
the pursuit of street-level drug dealers.

Koch's decision was a notable change from the anti-drug strategy
pursued by the former Elizabeth City-Pasquotank County Drug Task
Force, whose members were comprised of officers with the ECPD and
deputies with the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office.

The Drug Task Force pursued mid-to high-level drug dealers in the
Albemarle region for eight years, entering into lengthy investigations
that crossed county lines and made a number of high-profile arrests.
But the Drug Task Force disbanded in 2005 when its eligibility to
continue receiving state funds expired.

Since then, area law enforcement agencies have tried to continue the
Drug Task Force's strategy of pursuing mid-to high-level dealers. But
those types of investigations often take a long time, Koch said. In
the meantime, complaints from citizens about open-air drug dealing in
the city had to be addressed. As a result, Koch realigned the ECPD's
manpower to crack down on street-level drug crimes. He also ordered
the department's Drug Unit -- three plain clothes officers responsible
for investigating high-level drug traffickers -- to join in the
crackdown on street-level dealers. "Primarily, the emphasis is on the
street level dealers right now," Koch said. "We are applying a lot
more pressure on the streets." Last year's total of 655 drug charges
is an increase of 268 percent over the 178 drug charges filed just
five years ago, in 2002. In 2003, 300 drug charges were filed. In
2004, 341 drug charges were filed. And, in 2005, 389 drug charges were
filed.

Over the same five-year period, from 2002-06, the ECPD received an
average number of 27,083 calls for service per year. The ECPD averages
a total of 2,804 investigations per year and 372 drug charges per
year, according to data released last month.