CITY'S DRUG ARRESTS DECLINE

Though Pinellas sheriff's deputies help St. Petersburg police enforce drug
laws, arrests are off by 47 percent in June.

ST. PETERSBURG -- Since mid May, Pinellas County sheriff's deputies have
been helping St. Petersburg police officers enforce drug laws in the city.

Despite the help, the number of drug arrests citywide dropped from 191 in
May to 101 in June. The June total was the lowest for city drug arrests in
four years.

It is unclear how many June arrests were part of the venture between the
Sheriff's Office and Police Department. It's asecret.

Citing the safety of the undercover drug investigators, the Sheriff's Office
and police Chief Chuck Harmon will not detail the collaborative,
street-level work.

"We've been identifying, targeting and working the different groups or
different people we've identified as drug violators in St. Pete," said Lt.
Gary Brown, who supervises the Sheriff's Office narcotics unit.

Investigators said results of their investigations will be revealed soon. It
takes time to build cases, particularly for sheriff's investigators who may
be less familiar with the city, they said.

Harmon declined repeated requests this week to discuss the 47 percent
decrease in St. Petersburg drug arrests from May to June.

"I think we can safely just say that the arrests in narcotics investigations
vary, depending on how exactly the investigations are going," said Rick
Stelljes, police spokesman. "We're certainly aware of the numbers, but our
officers are out there working narcotics diligently in the neighborhoods."

Police and sheriff's investigators began working together in mid May after
complaints about the city's drug-fighting strategy.

Residents criticized police administrators for failing to assign enough
officers to patrol open-air drug markets. The outcry caught the attention of
the state's drug czar, who in April asked the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement if St. Petersburg needed help.

While sheriff's officials discussed some aspects of the work, St. Petersburg
police Chief Harmon refused this week to be interviewed for this report,
saying it would jeopardize the safety of the investigators working
undercover.

"You guys are going to get somebody killed out there by putting something in
there about what the sheriffs are doing out there," said Stelljes, the
police spokesman. "The suspects and the bad guys are going to be probably
more aware and looking for stuff."

In undercover drug work, investigators commonly hold off on making multiple
arrests, so they can get to mid-to upper-level dealers and build more cases.

"A lot of what goes on in these type of things lead up to something that
comes up later," Stelljes said.

That could explain why arrests dropped 47 percent between May and June,
though St. Petersburg police refuse to discuss it.

"There's ongoing investigations," said Stelljes.

"It would probably be inappropriate for me to go into that."

Brown, the sheriff's narcotics lieutenant, said the collaborative effort
with the Police Department "has been going fairly well," but he declined to
provide the number of drug arrests by both agencies since the effort began
in mid May. The agencies will announce results at the appropriate time,
Brown said.

In different areas of the city, resident opinion about drug enforcement
varies.

Charlie Caldwell, who lives in Palmetto Park, has his house for sale because
of the drug dealing and prostitution at 28th Street S and Third Avenue. His
for-sale sign reads: "Cheap!"

"When you call the police, they come down, make a U-turn and go out," said
Caldwell, 60. "They don't do anything."

Harbordale resident Theresa McEachern, 54, who is the Harbordale
neighborhood association president, said she is pleased with the drug-
fighting effort.

She recently saw a sheriff's cruiser in her area and felt reassured. Fewer
young men loiter on street corners, she said.

"I'm hoping that maybe it's because some of them are wising up," McEachern
said of drug dealers.

"Maybe some of them decided to get their act together for fear of being
busted."