'The single most important threat to the fabric of our society'

STUMBO'S PLANS FOR FIGHTING DRUGS

The following is adapted from remarks delivered yesterday to the Kentucky
Prosecutors Conference luncheon in Lexington. Mr. Fleming, an attorney who
lives in Louisville, is the incoming deputy attorney general of Kentucky.

Thank you for the opportunity to tell you a little bit about Greg Stumbo's
plans for the Attorney General's office. One thing I can tell you for sure
is that Greg Stumbo is excited about being Attorney General. You should
quickly see that he'll be an active Attorney General who takes his
responsibilities seriously and who will use his civil and criminal
authority to creatively fight crime and correct injustices. I think you can
look for the Attorney General in particular to be involved in fighting the
illegal drug trade, and to be active in the areas of predatory lending, the
environment, child and senior citizen protection and to streamline criminal
investigations through the creation of the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation
(KBI).

I will mention more on the KBI, because it is an important initiative, but
most important for today, Greg wanted me to make plain to you he firmly
supports your efforts as prosecutors. I can assure you that you will have
an effective advocate for the dollars you need from the General Assembly to
handle your increasing work load in our state courts. Greg not only brings
strong legislative skills and contacts to this office, but also the keen
sense of an active trial attorney who has tried literally hundreds of cases
in state and federal court. And the team the Attorney General will assemble
to administer this office will be second to none and will in part be
composed of experienced prosecutors and civil practitioners.

Immediately after his election on his first day in Frankfort, the new
Attorney General toured the Capitol and Frankfort-East offices and pledged
his availability to employees to discuss their problems and their cases and
to always keep his door open for new ideas. He wanted me to make that same
pledge to you today on his behalf and assure you that he will work with you
to enhance Kentucky's prosecutorial system.

Last week Greg Stumbo submitted the budget endorsed by the prosecutors'
advisory council, along with the current Attorney General, Ben Chandler.
While this budget is adequate to meet your needs in the midst of a state
budget crisis, he wanted me to state to you his firm commitment to obtain
additional funding in the coming years as workloads in your counties
increase. The Attorney General is well aware that the implementation of
family courts, increased prosecutions for DUI and drug offenses and
increases in the juvenile court dockets continue to overwhelm your efforts.

One area I am likewise confident Greg will emphasize is to increase the
availability of federal and state grant funding. Although homeland security
initiatives have decreased the availability of some federal funds, we are
confident that working with the assistance of Kentucky's congressional
delegation and in particular Rep. Hal Rogers, we should be able to increase
the availability of federal funds for prosecutions in Kentucky.

What else can we expect from Attorney General Stumbo? Well, while we are on
the subject of the budget, we can expect the Attorney General to seek
finally and decisively the 11 percent pay increase deserved by career
employees in the office. While this funding has eluded this office in the
past, Mr. Stumbo will make every effort to obtain this increase as the Hay
Study and others have determined is appropriate for OAG employees to obtain
income parity with public defenders.

But more important, as Greg traveled across the state in his campaign for
Attorney General, it became clear to him that the illegal drug trade in
Kentucky is increasing at an alarming rate. He is convinced it constitutes
the single most important threat to the fabric of our society and the
health, safety and economic well being of Kentuckians.

The evidence of the increase in the illegal drug trade in Kentucky is plain
for all to see. The statistics of Kentucky's Department of Corrections bear
out this problem, which indicate that in the 10-year period between 1992
and 2002:

The number of inmates in our state prisons serving time for drug offense
increased over 155 percent.

The number of repeat offenders increased nearly 60 percent.

Drug possession offenses alone increased nearly 200 percent.

The bottom line is that the level of illicit drug activity in Kentucky is
worse and not better; methamphetamine continues as a rapidly emerging
threat in rural Kentucky as well as OxyContin and cocaine as threats to
most metropolitan areas. Clearly, this is an insidious threat to us all and
requires, in Greg Stumbo's view, an extraordinary effort to deal
effectively with the drug dealers and pushers with a combination of civil
and criminal remedies.

Many of you heard Attorney General Stumbo speak in his campaign about the
establishment of the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation or the KBI. The KBI
will not be a panacea to solve all of the problems of Kentucky's illegal
drug trade or crime in general, but we are convinced it will be an
important first step to increase the efficiency of the Attorney General's
office and enhance the ability of that office to effectively combat our
drug problem and make pushers pay.

In the coming weeks Greg will have more to say about the establishment of
the KBI, but I can indicate to you that his plan is to combine a number of
investigative and enforcement units within the Attorney General's office
under a single division with regional offices in the state. These offices
will administer within our communities programs to investigate, prosecute,
convict and prevent crimes of all types and activity associated with
illegal drugs. He plans to use his authority under state law to reorganize
the office of Attorney General and establish the KBI as a division to be
headed by an executive director whom he will appoint. This office will work
with you in your communities and with federal authorities to develop a
comprehensive strategy for the enforcement of state laws related not only
to drug use but to all criminal laws within the authority of the Attorney
General to enforce.

I am quick to note, however, that the establishment of the KBI is in no way
intended to diminish the emphasis Greg Stumbo will maintain and enhance
upon the other divisions of the Attorney General's Office. These offices
include programs for victims advocacy, senior protection, utility rate
intervention, child support collection, public corruption and the criminal
appellate process. Each of these programs will continue to be administered
competently, and he will take a personal and keen interest in the status of
the programs, cases and proceedings within each of these divisions. But
more important, he pledges to improve the availability and understanding of
Kentucky's public of the programs of the Attorney General through the
establishment of regional offices in Western Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky,
as well as maintaining the current office in Louisville.