DUFFY SEES DROPOUT, DRUG LINK

Chief Says Keeping Kids in School Can Shield Them From Abuse, Dealing

The city should focus on lowering the City School District's dropout rate
as one way to combat the illegal drug trade, Police Chief Robert Duffy said
Friday.

Speaking at a drug summit sponsored by City Council, Duffy said many of the
children who drop out of school end up dealing and using drugs. "These are
kids we need to put our arms around," he said. "We need to find a way to
get those kids redirected and back in school."

In 2000-01, Rochester's dropout rate was 9.9 percent.

"We feel that dropout rate is leading to young people who are dealing drugs
and selling drugs on the street," Duffy said.

He said he sent a letter to Superintendent Clifford Janey in April asking
for specific information on the dropout problem, including the names of
students who have left school early.

Duffy said one district official told him as many as 1,000 students each
year leave school before they graduate, either by dropping out or on
long-term suspensions. He also said he would like to join forces with the
school system to keep more students in school, to stem the tide of future
drug dealers.

The information from the district should be analyzed and then a
communitywide strategy should be developed, he added.

"There are a lot of other agencies that have to step up," Duffy said.

The council hearing featured eight panelists -- ranging from a national
expert to a neighborhood leader -- talking about their viewpoints on
illegal drugs.

Their recommendations included developing a communitywide strategy,
reducing the number of addicts, attacking the "business" of drug dealing,
providing jobs so people don't feel forced to become dealers, improving
access to treatment programs and promoting more collaboration among groups.

Mayor William A. Johnson Jr. has set aside $500,000 in the proposed 2002-03
budget for drug initiatives. Council's hearing was held about six months
after a daylong drug summit was convened in Rochester by Johnson and Duffy.

"Drugs are a market. They are a business," said Dr. John Carnevale, a
former director in the White House's Office of National Drug Control
Policy, who urged city leaders to develop a communitywide plan after
thoroughly assessing the problem.

Tisha Smith, a criminal justice researcher at Rochester Institute of
Technology, said the drug trade in the city is a $32.1 million underground
economy. That figure is a conservative estimate based on interviews with
inmates who reported how much drug houses earn on a daily basis, she said.

A typical drug house can make $1,000 a night, and there are at least 300 in
the city.

Councilwoman Gladys Santiago said she witnessed one of those drug houses in
operation earlier this week on Bay Street.

"It's outrageous what's going on," she said.

Duffy admitted the city is not tough enough in closing stores or taking
over houses where drugs are sold.

"We give too many warnings, and we're too lenient," he said. "There really
should be a hard-line approach."

Council also will hold a special hearing at 10 a.m. today on the
Renaissance 2010 plan. The hearing will be held at the Gleason Works
Auditorium, 1000 University Ave.

Council will hear updates on how the plan, which is supposed to help guide
city development, is evolving and how it relates to the proposed budget.
The public can comment after the hearing.

A formal public hearing on the city and the school district budgets will be
held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Council Chambers.

Council is expected to vote on the city budget June 18.