HPD LOOKS TO CRACK DOWN ON DRUG CRIME

Hattiesburg Police Department is looking to crack down on
drug-related crime with a new unit.

The interdiction unit, which will start to work Saturday, is made up
of six police officers and one supervisor, who all already work for
HPD. Each officer already has been assigned an accompanying K-9 partner.

Lt. Dale Bounds, the unit's supervisor, said the team will be
beneficial to the growing city by taking more narcotics off the
streets. Combating narcotic distribution prevents other crimes from
occurring, Bounds said, adding that the unit's staff along with its
soon-to-arrive new equipment trucks will better help the department
combat crime.

"You're trying to intercept the drugs going from point A to point B
and the money going from point B to point C," Bounds said.

A figure on total funding for the new unit was not
available.

Earlier this month, the HPD officers seized more than 50 pounds of
cocaine during a routine traffic stop, reportedly worth more than
about $10 million in street value. And officials reported that the
department has confiscated about $143,730 since January. Bounds said
the confiscated funds, or forfeitures, are used to purchase new
department equipment.

HPD officials say the new unit will be similar to the Laurel Police
Department's interdiction unit. Capt. Steve Dearman, the LPD unit's
former director of four years, said "it has taken numerous pounds of
drugs off the interstate" since it began in 2003.

Dearman estimated that the unit has confiscated about 3,000 pounds of
marijuana, 200 pounds of cocaine and approximately 100 pounds of
methamphetamines.

"We've seized money, I wouldn't have an (estimate) as to the amount;
we seized money in the proceeds of illegal narcotics," Dearman said.

He said he believes HPD also will be successful in its attempt to
take illegal drugs off the streets.

"The longer they do it, the more they will be successful," he said.
"It's just an ongoing process."

The department ordered three 2008 SUV Chevrolet Tahoe trucks to
provide the officers and dogs with more space as they patrol the
city. Funding for the trucks was approved by City Council on March 4
at a cost of $28,000 per truck.

HPD Police Chief Frazier Bolton said Monday the trucks will arrive in
two to three weeks and will give officers and K-9s more room to carry
necessary equipment.

"They will be able to carry all their equipment to utilize their
police work," Bolton said.

Bounds said current size police vehicles provide limited space for
the dogs and that the SUVs will prevent them from being "cranked up"
as they are transported to and from different locations. Bounds said
the trucks will also have enough space to fit criminal suspects.

"Our police car is like our office," Bounds said. "You've got a lot
of equipment. Instead of having to dig through it, you'll have
everything laid out."

The unit's staff will provide consistent training for its dogs
through a series of agility courses and tests.

Officer A.J. Arredondo, K-9 instructor, said the department's six
dogs undergo weeks or months of training and must meet the United
States Police Canine Association requirements to gain
certification.

Arredondo said the dogs' police training consists of learning various
policing aspects, including an agility course, area and article
search, criminal apprehension, narcotics detection and obedience.

Officer Larry Primeaux, who will be a part of the new unit, said
working with his dog Tonka will be a great asset to the department.

"Say you put a bad guy in the woods, a dog's going to find it faster
than four or five cops will," said Primeaux, who has been training
with the dog since December. "And he'll find a hidden man somewhere
just by scent. A dog can sniff and see better than a human."