DRUG FIGHT MUST CENTER ON ALEXANDRIA

Police Chief Tommy Cicardo may well be on the right track in beefing up his
anti-narcotics operations and going the fight against illegal drugs on his
own - or on the Alexandria Police Department's own, that is.

He is, of course, correct in his assessment that "Alexandria has a
significant drug problem" which he says he will address "aggressively."

Toward that end, Cicardo seems hesitant to combine, again, with Rapides
Parish Sheriff William Earl Hilton's Metro Narcotics force, a parishwide
entity.

APD withdrew from that unit last July, and now Hilton wants to reunite.

Cicardo should consider that, but not necessarily on Hilton's terms.

The sheriff's office, remember, has jurisdiction in Alexandria, and Hilton
is elected parishwide - that includes Alexandria, the major population
center.

While we do not wish to see any kind of turf fight, we would point out that
Cicardo and Hilton must, as in imperatively, have the same objective when it
comes to waging a fight against illegal drugs.

And if they combine forces to wage that fight, they must do it with the goal
of eliminating illegal drugs, not with a goal of who gets the credit.

We can understand Cicardo's reluctance to once again combine forces with the
parishwide unit, but we also see potential values in again combining forces
which will have the same objective.

For that matter, State Police should be involved, too.

At this point, we know too little about what Cicardo's reservations might
be, and what Hilton thinks can be gained.

Has enforcement increased in Alexandria since the two went their separate
ways? Has the fact that both have operational authority posed any conflicts?

We urge Cicardo to consider the advantages and disadvantages of again
combining forces, but he should insist that the worst of the problem of
illegal drug trafficking receive the most concentration.

That would appear to be within APD's jurisdiction, and efforts in the fight
should be along the lines of helping APD.