TAMPA'S DRUG PROBLEM

The City Of Tampa Is Trying To Find Ways To Crack Down On Drug Dealing And
Crime,
But It Needs A Better Plan - One That Might Actually Work.

The city of Tampa is considering whether to resurrect a law that was
struck down before because it criminalizes speech.

The measure would give police the power to arrest any person they
suspect is "intent" on selling drugs.

Having cops act on a transcendental hunch, like the lady at the fair
who guesses weight, is a good way to violate civil rights but a poor
way to fight the scourge of drugs.

The ordinance would criminalize so-called "precursor acts" -- acts the
police, lacking any real evidence, could use as a pretext to make a
bust. People seen handing off small packages or "repeatedly" getting
in and out of cars would be subject to arrest. "Repeatedly" means
twice or more an hour, so car-poolers beware.

In case this law isn't muddy enough, it also targets people who
"appear to receive money" from an accomplice, meaning police are
covered even when they aren't sure what's going on.

This law wouldn't be applied throughout the city. Only established
high-drug areas would be affected, meaning that drug dealers in the
tonier neighborhoods would be freer to ply their trade.

City attorneys have tried to plug the legal holes -- they have carved
away the most violative infringements on freedom of speech and
assembly -- but the underlying problems remain.

Street-level drug dealing in Tampa is a real problem, and the impact
disproportionately hurts the poor. That's why the focus needs to be on
strategies that work. Police already have the power to make arrests
when they reasonably believe a crime has occurred. Nothing in current
law prevents police from arresting dealers. This ordinance turns
crime-fighting into a fishing expedition and subverts the presumption
of innocence.

Residents and businesses in east Tampa, and in other hard-pressed
areas of the city, have the right to expect a larger crackdown on crime.

Aside from the fear and violence drugs cause, the trade stunts
legitimate commerce, leaving entire neighborhoods of the city blighted
and depressed.

But this law is not substantively different from an earlier city
version the state Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional. The number of
offensive provisions has been reduced, but the law would do the same
thing -- divert the city's focus from the streets to the courts.

It also would get politicians off the hook. The measure makes it
appear the city is helping when it's actually avoiding the larger problem.

Want to attack street dealers?

Put out more police, conduct more stings, put lights on the roads and
sidewalks and go after property owners whose land is a public
nuisance. People sell drugs in east Tampa because they can get away
with it; the area's considered almost a write-off. Thomas Scott,
Arthenia Joyner and other elected officials have talked the past year
about a mini-Marshall Plan to move east and central Tampa forward.
These promises take money, not press releases. No wonder these
residents are prisoners in their own homes.