REPORT RIPS DRUG AGENCY

'They pirated positions,' PEER director says

Money intended to add agents misspent, watchdog panel says

Plans to intensify drug enforcement faltered when funding for more
narcotics agents was spent for a new training academy and more bureaucracy,
says a government watchdog report released Monday.

The Legislature allocated $25.3 million to pay for 112 new Mississippi
Bureau of Narcotics positions over three years. But hiring for the new
positions lagged and resignations increased. In January, the agency had
gained only 34 more officers and civilians, according to the report by the
Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review.

The agency's arrest rate dropped during that time.

"It was an opportunity squandered," PEER Director Max Arinder said.

The report noted:

Recruiting was inadequate. Management decisions led to resignations.

The original proposal that called for more agents projected an increase of
502 arrests, but 275 fewer were recorded. The projection for an increase of
866 new cases turned into 446 cases.

The new training school cost the state nearly $21 more per student per day
than the state academy.

Leadership of the Bureau of Narcotics persuaded the Legislature in 1996 to
increase agents. Funding was spread over the 1998-2000 fiscal years. Of the
112 new positions authorized, 87 were to be for agents and 25 for support
staff.

Part of the money went for promotions and raises.

"They pirated positions from both enforcement support and field agents and
used these to build up middle management," Arinder said.

The report covers the three-year term of Tom Blain. Blain resigned in
January. Don Strange was appointed MBN director March 1.

Blain, who inherited the expansion proposal when he became director in
February 1997, made 30 promotions and created 15 field agent supervisor
positions from 13 agent and two staff positions. Blain went from 13
supervisors to 28.

Blain "increased the number of management personnel at the expense of field
operations," the report said.

MBN "misled the Legislature in its FY 1999 and 2000 budget requests
concerning the use of the requested funds" by saying in budget requests
that money was being used to continue the three-year expansion plan," the
report said.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Charlie Capps, D-Cleveland, said,
"I'm really disappointed that the Bureau of Narcotics has put this money
into administration instead of put it out into agents in the field. That's
what we appropriated it for."

The PEER report was sharply critical of Blain's actions. It says Blain's
management changes "created a work environment that may have influenced 50
voluntary or forced resignations ... including 29 field agents and six
field agent supervisors."

Arinder said Blain "created some absolutely terrible morale problems in the
department the way he managed things. ...They had a turnover rate that just
skyrocketed."

Blain said Monday he had not read the report. He said he would comment
after he had time to study it, probably today.

Blain works as a law enforcement consultant for ManTech International Corp.
in Gainesville, Va. The management technology company helped build the
state's automated criminal records network. Blain worked on that project at
the Department of Public Safety before he became MBN director.

PEER Committee member Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, said, "I think the solution
would be a new agency head, and that's already taken place.

"The overall picture was there was fairly serious mismanagement out there
during the previous administration," Bryan said.

"I have confidence that the new director will do better, not merely in the
particular areas PEER talked about, but in general management of the
agency," Bryan said.

Strange said people with supervisory titles and pay weren't supervising agents.

"There was no first-level supervision short of being the captain in charge
of the office," Strange said. "They used the rank provisions for pay
enhancements.

"I didn't think it was a very good structure. I didn't think it was
conducive to drug law enforcement," Strange said at a news conference.

Strange got Personnel Board approval for his reorganization plans in late
April, changing duties and salaries of 19 positions.

PEER called for MBN to conduct a needs analysis of personnel requirements
by Sept. 1, 2001, and to design a comprehensive recruitment plan. Positions
should be based on things such as population, drug patterns and complaints
from law enforcement and citizens.

The report said the State Personnel Board should work with MBN to revise
qualifications for all officer positions.

The Personnel Board approved some of Blain's personnel actions.

The PEER report said personnel actions not related to the legislatively
approved expansion cost $161,607 in fiscal year 1998, $82,109 in 1999 and
$90,677 in 2000.

MBN did not fill new positions in a timely manner, PEER said. "As of Jan.
31, the bureau had filled 125 of 180 sworn officer positions. This lack of
sworn officers, especially the field agents, has significantly impacted the
enforcement of drug laws statewide."

Money for positions that remained vacant was returned to the state general
fund. MBN returned $2.5 million for the 1998 and 1999 fiscal years. It is
projected to return $4.5 million for the 2000 fiscal year.

With 83 vacancies last fall, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee called
for cutting $2.6 million. The Legislature this spring reallocated $1
million after Strange begged to hire more agents.

Strange said he now has about 133 agents, with plans to hire about 25 more
within a month. His goal is 188 agents. About 10 of the agents who resigned
during Blain's tenure have been rehired.

Richard Brooks, who was was forced to resign for communicating with
legislators and news reporters about problems he saw at MBN, was reinstated
July 1. Brooks would not comment.

Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin said he wasn't surprised at the
report's criticisms.

"Every two or three weeks I'd have somebody coming in here telling me they
were the new captain or the new major and they wanted to have a wonderful
working relationship," McMillin said. "They didn't help me."

PEER told MBN to be cost effective in training. The school that Blain set
up at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg cost the state at least $70,058 more than
the state academy. Three 50-day sessions cost $220,808, compared to
$150,750 that it would have cost at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officer
Training Academy in Rankin County, the report said.

The report recommended using the Rankin County academy for general law
enforcement training and limiting the MBN academy to specialized training.

The report also said allowing two civilians to carry firearms created
potential liability because they did not have the training or job
responsibilities to carry weapons.

PEER called for legislation to prevent civilians from carrying firearms.
Strange said he prohibits anyone except sworn officers from carrying a weapon.

Staff Writer Theresa Kiely contributed to this report.