MAKE DRUG DEALERS PAY FOR CRIMES

It was good to see that four members of City Council are beginning to focus
on the problem of black-on-black killings in Cincinnati ("Plan takes on
'black-on-black' crime," Jan. 1). Unfortunately, the plans they are putting
forward - educating the community about violence, finding jobs for felons
and reinstating the gang unit - will do little to solve this grievous problem.

Their shortcoming is that none of the plans target drug use and selling,
even though at least 90 percent of the killings are drug related, according
to Police Chief Thomas Streicher. The drug trade is highly profitable, and
none of those actively involved is interested in an $8- to $10-an-hour job
when he can make hundreds and even thousands of dollars in a single night
selling drugs.

I know because the staff at Jobs Plus Employment Network, where I work, has
walked the streets of Over-the-Rhine for many hours imploring these young
men to come to our office for help with employment. Hardly any have come.

Where Jobs Plus does have success is with men who have been incarcerated
for their drug activity. These men are tired of the hopelessness of drug
dealing and are eager to get their lives in order.

From our perspective, much of the solution is clear: Make the dealers and
users pay for their crimes until the price of selling drugs motivates them
to stop. To achieve a major reduction in the number of killings, the city
of Cincinnati needs to declare aa citywide war on drugs. City Council, the
courts, community leaders, churches and businesses need to develop a plan
in which drug dealers and those puchasing drugs are arrested and held
accountable for their illegal actions.

The plan should include more support systems like River City Correctional
Center, where drug dealers and users undergo a program promoting positive
values, attitudes and work ethic. Such qualities, normally developed in
homes, schools and churches, are usually absent in the lives of these men.
The required investment will be considerable, but well worth it in terms of
lives saved and community safety.

Burr Robinson is executive director of Jobs Plus Employment Network in
Cincinnati.