PORTSMOUTH POLICE GET FEDERAL HELP

PORTSMOUTH -- The city is one of three areas in the nation where federal
agents have been assigned to help curtail drug trafficking.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is helping the Police Department
aggressively pursue drug dealers on city streets.

Pam Brown, a special agent for the DEA's Washington office, told the City
Council this week that Portsmouth asked for help and got it.

Brown said the assignment is in response to a letter from Police Chief
Leonard G. Cooke, who said narcotics crimes were high in the city.

"We get requests for help from thousands of police departments," Brown told
the council. "The chief's letter must have been compelling because I was
sent down."

Agents will go into the communities, talk with civic leaders and get
information to help prepare undercover operations, Brown said. While the
agency will mainly target high-level drug crimes, its agents will also set
up prevention programs to counteract dealers who sell "drugs to kids
walking by at a reduced price to get them hooked," Brown said.

The prevention program will also cater to users who, Brown said, "break
into a home and steal a TV or VCR they can sell for money to buy drugs."

Brown said Portsmouth residents are willing to help solve the problem, and
they want to improve their quality of life. A handful of community groups
have started to stabilize small pockets of their neighborhoods, she said.
Last year, property crimes were down 9.3 percent. But the city saw a 1.9
percent increase in violent crimes. "We're going to dedicate ourselves to
Portsmouth and bring some resources to help the community," said Brown.

Mayor James W. Holley III said city leaders welcome the help. "We know we
have a problem," he said. "We can't cover it up, and we're going about it
in the most appropriate way."