BEACH STARTS DRUG ABATEMENT TEAM

JACKSONVILLE BEACH -- Drug dealers have occupied the worn duplex on a busy
corner south of Beach Boulevard for years. When one leaves, another moves in.

The process frustrates police and neighbors who say they know illegal drugs
are being sold at 824 Shetter Ave. But they can't do much about it.

"We keep arresting the dealers, but the house stays the same," said Sgt.
Gene Paul Smith.

Now the city is trying a new approach with its DART, or Drug Abatement
Response Team. The team inspects houses or businesses that attract drugs,
prostitution or gang activity. City police, code enforcement officers and
fire and electric employees do the inspections.

Their goal is to clean up the buildings, which are often run down and unsafe.

The program is similar to DART in Jacksonville, which started four years
ago. In 1998, the year with the most recent figures available, 88 of the
188 sites inspected in Jacksonville were vacated or condemned, according to
the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

The Shetter Avenue duplex was the target of the Jacksonville Beach DART's
first raid Thursday.

Smith, who heads the team, said the police department has "boatloads of
documentation" on drug activity at the home. Police have received numerous
complaints from neighbors and passers-by, he said.

"It's one of those nuisance residences that just keep coming back again and
again, and we can't do anything about it," Smith said.

Officers didn't find any drugs lying out in the open when they entered the
home Thursday. But they arrested the new tenant, Clinton Walls, 40, on a
warrant for violating his probation on a previous drug charge.

The previous tenant, Willie Pollins, 46, was arrested nearby Thursday on a
cocaine possession charge.

Code enforcement officers who inspected the place said the roof is rotting
and needs to be replaced. They also found serious problems with the
electrical wiring, holes in the bathroom walls and no smoke detectors.

"It's not enough to condemn," said Jacksonville Beach code enforcement
officer Deborah White. "But she's [the landlord] got a lot of stuff she
needs to fix."

The landlord, Julia Samms, will be given 60 days to make the repairs. If
she doesn't, the case could be turned over to the Code Enforcement Board,
which can issue fines for violations of the city's safe housing code. Samms
refused to comment.

DART teams try to work with landlords to clean up rough houses. If
landlords don't cooperate, DART may act under a Florida law that states
buildings used for drug activities are public nuisances and permits
authorities to collect damages from property owners.

DART officers may make an arrest if they are invited inside and find drugs
in plain view. They may not search without permission from the tenant or a
search warrant.