CHIEF - VIOLENT CRIME NOT ON THE RISE

Officials Address Concerns After Narcotics Sweep

ITHACA -- In the light of the recent county-wide narcotics arrests,
state and local law enforcement officials, headed by Ithaca Mayor
Carolyn Peterson and Ithaca Police Chief Lauren Signer, spoke about
crime and drugs in Ithaca in an hour-long press conference at police
headquarters Friday.

"Drugs are a problem everywhere," Signer said. "No community is safe."

The multi-agency narcotics sweep apprehended 33 people in arrests
Tuesday, last week and earlier this month. The operation also seized
thousands of dollars and confiscated marijuana and cocaine, according
to the New York State Police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team.
Patrick J. Garey, CNET lieutenant-in-charge; Tompkins County District
Attorney Gwen Wilkinson; and Assistant Deputy State Attorney General
Michael Sharpe were also at the conference.

Among the reasons they held the conference, Signer said, was to
address community concerns over a perceived increase in crime and to
let people know that they're collaborating with other agencies to
address crime.

Signer emphasized that the perception that violent crime is on the
rise in Ithaca is just that -- a perception with no numbers available
to support it. This perception is rooted in recent high profile crime
incidents, such as stabbings last summer and home invasions last
fall, she added.

"I can tell you as the chief of police, we've seen no increase in
crime." She conceded that the department is behind on its
record-keeping and has no computerized record-keeping system.

Wilkinson said her office sees crimes like larceny, grand larceny,
petit larceny, forgery, robbery and burglary as a result of drug use,
though she could not say whether those types of crimes have increased.

"There are many, many crimes, serious and less serious in the scheme
of things, that are a direct result of addiction and drug
trafficking," Wilkinson said.

The sweep arrests netted everyone from high-level distributors to
street-level dealers selling drugs to support a drug habit.

"This latest series of arrests has apprehended people at all levels
of the distribution chain," she said. "The whole spectrum is
represented in this latest investigation." The charges, she added,
reflect that.

Garey sketched a picture of the drug connection between New York City
and Upstate, saying that 99 percent of the drugs in the area,
especially cocaine and heroin, come from New York City. This is the
case in all cities in the state, he added.

"Ithaca is not unique in the fact that it's a target location for
(drug traffickers) to come upstate," he said.

Garey said traffickers find the population centers and meld into the
surroundings.

"A drug dealer up here can sell a piece of crack for between $20 and
$40 that costs $5 in New York City," he said. "It's all profit."

The drug dealers who sell Upstate are the ones who can't make it in
New York City, Garey said. He said drug dealers will come to town for
a week, do business, and then return to New York City for month.

"That makes it very difficult to catch them," he said.

Signer and Peterson acknowledged the efforts of the Common Council to
fund the investigations and policing.

"We can't do anything without the support of council members who see
the activity and fallout of this drug use in their communities," she
said.

Investigations like these are time-consuming but ultimately
rewarding, a CNET undercover investigator said after the conference.
Drug dealers are creatures of habit, and it takes patience to catch
them.

"At the end, it's nice when things come together," the investigator
said.

The investigators, along with the Ithaca Police who took part in the
investigation, suffered the long hours that come with the job, Garey
and the investigator said.

Both said patrol officers are integral to investigations.

"They're the ones who give us the leads," the investigator said.

"They're the eyes and ears on the street," Garey agreed.