DRUGS MUST BE FOUGHT REGIONALLY

Fighting the spread of illicit drugs requires a regional approach.

This principle was upheld Tuesday when the members of the Forrest-Perry
County Metro Narcotics Task Force met with Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree
and other elected officials to discuss a critical issue: Whether the
Hattiesburg Police Department would remain a member of the metro unit.

The result? It will.

This appears to be the appropriate course of action.

Local law enforcement agencies must be able to work together - and
communicate with one another - to fight the drug problem.

Creating a separate drug task force for the Hub City - as Hattiesburg
Police Chief David Wynn proposed last week - may have undermined the
regional strategy that is required to fight the drug problem.

Keeping the metro narcotics unit intact was (and is) important.

After Wynn announced plans last week to create a separate task force for
Hattiesburg, the metro board voted to remove Hattiesburg from the metro
unit. This prompted Hattiesburg City Council President Carter Carroll to
call a special meeting of the council on Friday - a meeting that Wynn was
unable to attend.

On Tuesday, with all of the key players in attendance, officials reached an
agreement that keeps the Hattiesburg Police Department a part of the metro
unit. In addition, the police department will add three members to its
Neighborhood Enhancement Team.

One of the key issues that created a rift between Wynn and the metro
narcotics unit was Wynn's insistence that his department receive a larger
share of seized assets when Hattiesburg is the arresting agency.

Metro statutes call for all seizures to be split three ways: 10 percent
going to the district attorney's office, 45 percent to metro and 45 percent
to the assisting agency. Wynn had requested an 80-20 split.

This issue, too, was resolved.

While keeping the division of assets essentially the same, the arresting
agency will now get 80 percent of assets when the seizure is greater than
$50,000.

The drugs that are sold in Hattiesburg often don't originate here. In some
cases they're brought in from overseas. In other cases they're manufactured
(or grown) in the counties.

To combat this problem, cooperation and communication between regional law
enforcement agencies is vital.

Remaining a part of the metro narcotics unit ensures that Hattiesburg will
be able to continue participating in this important inter-agency organization.