FEDERAL FUNDING CUTS MAY MEAN FEWER NARCOTICS OFFICERS ON THE
STREETS

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said his county will see a
sharp decrease in the number of officers assigned to drug crime
investigations because of cuts in federal money.

"Virtually every sheriff's office in the country will feel the effect
of these cuts starting in October of this year," Bouchard said in a
press release. "In Oakland County, we will go from having seven
people assigned to narcotic investigations to two. This is a major
set-back for law enforcement and public safety as a whole."

Last week, Bouchard said he met with federal officials in Washington
D.C. about not cutting the money that law enforcement agencies use to
target drug dealers and violent criminals. The funding, administrated
by the U.S. Department of Justice, was cut from $520 million in 2007
to $170 in the 2008 fiscal year. The money is being shifted to other
federal programs.

Money from the grant was used in a statewide sweep, dubbed "Operation
Blitz" on Wednesday. Officers that are part of multi-jurisdictional
teams arrested 223 people and seized 460 pounds of marijuana. This
was the third such blitz, which has resulted in a total of 676
people arrested, according to the Associated Press.

The grant that multi-jurisdictional task forces use is named for
policeman Edward Byrne, who was killed in 1988 while protecting a
family that was to testify in a drug trial.

Bouchard said he would like to see Congress shift its interest in
alleged steroid and human growth hormone use in Major League Baseball
and focus more on funding the fight against drugs.

"While Congress focuses on the need to eliminate drug use from
baseball, law enforcement is struggling to get action on Byrne . . .
which fights drugs not just in baseball, but on our streets and in
our neighborhoods," Bouchard said. "Literally thousands of children
have been saved from drug scenes by this program."

"With budgets tightening across the board, we need federal funding
for critical law enforcement programs to stay intact. Law enforcement
officers need the support and communities need the protection,"
Bouchard said.

Bouchard is the president of the Major Sheriff's Association, which
represents sheriffs from municipalities with a population of more
than 500,000 people.