ILLEGAL DRUGS PLAYED A ROLE IN MORE THAN HALF OF MOBILE'S 45
HOMICIDES IN 2001, SAYS POLICE CHIEF

Illegal drugs played a role in more than half of the homicides
recorded in Mobile in 2001, according to police.

Twenty-five of the 45 slayings "had a drug nexus," Mobile Police
Chief Sam Cochran said, meaning that at least one person involved was
using, stealing or attempting to buy drugs.

"There's a significant drug problem in Mobile," Cochran said, just as
in cities of similar size.

In fact, Mobile is "uniquely set" to have a drug problem, the chief
said. Its location along Interstate 10, commonly considered a drug
corridor between Texas and Florida, and its status as a port city
make it an "easy city for drugs to infiltrate," Cochran said.

But, he added, it's "really hard to characterize" where the city's
drug problem ranks. Is it at a high point, normal or below average?

Mobile's drug-related homicides accounted for about 56 percent of the
total, and nationwide statistics indicate that number may be high.

Alan Hancock, special agent with the local office of the Drug
Enforcement Administration, quoted statistics gathered by the
National Institute of Justice. Those numbers show that of the 12,943
homicides reported nationwide in 2000, only 669 -- about 5 percent --
were committed during the course of a drug felony or due to
unspecified drug activity.

Statewide numbers are a little higher, but percentages are much lower
than Mobile's. Of 314 total homicides reported to the Alabama
Criminal Justice Information Center, forty-four occurred during a
drug-related felony or stemmed from the buying and selling of drugs,
Hancock said. That's about 14 percent of the total homicides.

One caveat, though, is that Mobile's statistics include those who
were on drugs at the time of the homicide, while nationwide and
statewide numbers may not have used that category for the homicides
reported to them.

Other research shows that the link between drugs and homicide is
neither unusual nor new. In five out of six cities studied in 1997 by
the National Institute of Justice, "homicide rates corresponded
closely with cocaine use levels measured among the adult male
arrestee population."

Cochran called crack cocaine the "number one drug creating violence."

Ironically, some of the Mobile Police Department's successful drug
operations can bring about more violence, the chief pointed out.

For instance, one woman who was slated to be a witness in a federal
drug case was murdered. And retaliatory homicides -- against those
whom dealers believe have informed authorities about drug activity --
are common, the chief said.

"Drug dealers are probably the most paranoid people" that police
interview, Cochran said. That carries over into violence if the
dealers think someone will "snitch them out."

Though he couldn't provide details because the investigations are
ongoing, Cochran said the Police Department's homicide unit has
pursued specific cases where the victim was killed for being
suspected by a dealer of serving as an informant.

Fear of retaliation complicates police investigations of drug cases,
Cochran said, saying those cases are "without a doubt" harder to
solve than cases that are not drug-related.

Just last week , a witness in a local drug case recanted her
testimony against two men who were accused of murdering Cheryl Reddix
in the first homicide of 2001.

Referring to the woman who decided not to testify, Cochran said, "Is
it because she's scared? That very well may be."

The Mobile Police Department has a two-pronged approach to combating
the drug trade. One team, known as SLIDE -- short for Street Level
Interdiction Drug Enforcement -- concentrates on interrupting the
sales of open-air drug markets. The investigative unit, on the other
hand, focuses on suppliers and on "dismantling organizations,"
according to the chief.

Some critics of the "war on drugs" point to nationwide statistics,
which indicate that the vast majority of arrests for drug violations
in 2000 were for possession, not the manufacture or sale of drugs.

Cochran said, though, that "it's easier to catch a drug dealer in
possession of drugs than selling drugs." He said the Police
Department doesn't "go after users ... but many of the people we
arrest will try to convince their families and the courts that
they're just users."

Combating illegal drugs, the chief explained, is "always an uphill battle."

The chief conceded that a lot of work remains to be done to fight the
city's drug war, but, he said, "if we were not doing what we're doing
now, things would be so much worse."

He added, "You've got to fight that battle, even knowing that you're
not going to be totally successful."