FEDERAL CUTS THREATEN STATE DRUG TASK FORCES

About 30 Alabama drug task forces face cutbacks this year and possible
elimination next year unless local governments pitch in to make up for
reduced federal funds.

Some officials say drug crimes will rise if task forces are scaled back.
They say it's a bad time to cut task forces, partly because of the spread
of methamphetamine, an addictive, illegal stimulant used heavily in some
rural areas.

"Within the past month, we've taken off the street way over a million
dollars worth of drugs," said Paul Kilgore, director of the Walker County
drug task force. "We've recovered over 20 pounds of meth. These drugs we're
taking off the street aren't going to the kids."

Drug task forces are joint efforts between sheriff and police departments,
sometimes from more than one county. Federal grants help pay salaries and
allow the departments to assign officers and investigators to work together
on drug enforcement full-time.

In some areas, the task forces handle all the felony drug investigations.

Last year, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs awarded
about $7.65 million in task force grants, said Jim Plott, an ADECA
spokesman. This year the agency has just $5.23 million available.

President Bush's proposed budget for 2006 eliminates drug task force
grants, said Robert Pruit, director of the Law Enforcement and Traffic
Safety Division of ADECA, which awards the grants.

Pruit said the task force program, in place for at least 15 years, has
worked. "I think without it, we're going to go backward," Pruit said.

To stretch fewer dollars as much as possible, Pruit said ADECA is asking
for a 50 percent match from local governments this year, up from 25 percent
last year.

Most of this year's cuts have not taken effect. Grants are awarded at
various times, and most are due for renewal at the end of May or later in
the year.

A methamphetamine task force named this month by Alabama Attorney General
Troy King discussed task force funding at its first meeting, Wednesday,
King said. The task force has asked ADECA for statistics on task force
enforcement activity. The numbers will be used in a letter to Alabama's
congressional delegation to ask that funding be restored, he said. "We want
to show what the impact will be if we stop funding them," King said.

ADECA requires task forces to submit quarterly reports on arrests and other
enforcement activities. Task forces also provide statistics and goals in
their annual grant applications. In its first four years of operation,
ending last July, the Covington County task force closed 145 meth labs and
arrested 939 people, according to its 2005 grant application. The task
force is a cooperative effort between the sheriff's department and police
departments from Andalusia, Opp and Florala, as well as the district
attorney's office.

Andalusia Police Chief Wilbur Williams said task forces with proven records
should not lose funding. "There should be some type of performance-based
analysis of what good these task forces are doing," Williams said.

Plott said enforcement statistics will be a factor in determining grant
amounts. But even successful task forces should not rely on grants
permanently, ADECA spokesman Larry Childers said. "Everyone is told there
is never any guarantee that money will continue at a certain level,"
Childers said. "We're at the mercy of forces out of our control. The hope
is always that the value will be demonstrated and some other source of
funds will pick up the slack."

Williams said he hopes that would happen in Covington County. "It would be
my conclusion and recommendation that the city of Andalusia find the money
to continue the task force because it has been so successful," Williams said.

Kilgore said he had doubts about the ability of governments in Walker
County to sustain the task force without federal aid.

"These counties and cities aren't going to have the money," Kilgore said.
He said the task force busts an average of about two meth labs per week.

In a statement issued in response to questions, Virginia Davis, spokeswoman
for U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, said, "Senator Shelby is well
aware of the president's budget regarding Department of Justice grants. He
has serious concerns with the cuts the president has proposed."