NARCS - GUESS WHO'S BEEN NAUGHTY

December Sweep Targeted Probation, Parole Violations; More Ops
Planned

The Coachella Valley Narcotics Task Force's holiday crackdown on
parolees and probationers netted 32 arrests during its December debut.

Agents made contact with 38 parolees or probationers during the month
and found only six to be in compliance with the conditions put upon
them by the court, said CVNTF Cmdr. Fred Fierro.

"But we were targeting people who we knew were out of compliance or
had not been checked on by probation," he said.

The compliance sweeps by the agents throughout the Coachella Valley
between Dec. 2 and Dec. 30 were designed to crack down on the kinds of
crimes that typically spike during the holiday season, such as petty
theft, burglary and robbery.

Often those types of crimes are committed by repeat offenders and
about 80 percent of crimes committed are narcotics-related, Fierro
said.

The holiday operation kicked off Dec. 2 with visits to five homes in
La Quinta and Cathedral City and netted four arrests.

Among those arrested was 48-year-old Debra Jean Walker of Cathedral
City who was out on bail from a previous arrest and on probation from
a September 2003 drug conviction, according to Riverside County
Superior Court records.

She had two pending court cases at the time of the December
arrest.

The CVNTF also assisted the Palo Verde Narcotics Task Force in Blythe
and the Allied Riverside Cities Narcotics Task Force in Hemet with
similar operations.

Locally, task force officials were so pleased with the operation that
it will be an ongoing crime suppression exercise, Fierro said.

He estimated they would conduct an operation about once a month or so
throughout the year.

"It sends a message," Fierro said. "Stay in compliance or we'll take
you to jail."

Cpl. Dennis Gutierrez, Riverside County Sheriff's Department public
information officer, said these types of operations are extremely
beneficial to quality-of-life issues for residents.

He said the teams often try to keep the subjects they are targeting
off balance by approaching them at different hours of the day and
night and making certain they don't fall into a scheduled pattern of
compliance sweeps.

Gutierrez said the operations are always worthwhile even if the team
doesn't get the people they are targeting because they usually recover
stolen property or other evidence.

Fierro said the holiday operation resulted in the development of
information that led to agents serving several search warrants.

While some of those arrested were just out of compliance, others had
committed new crimes and were arrested on those charges as well, he
said.

Though the task force started the program in Cathedral City, it
extended to every city in the valley, Fierro said.

"That's the goal, to hit these things valleywide," he said. "To make
an impact in the valley."

Although they are unable to statistically quantify the results of the
holiday operation on the valley's crime rate, Fierro said he believes
it made a difference.

"This did take a lot of petty crime off the street," he said.