FIGHTING CRIME

Narcotics Bureau Focus On Jackson

Mississippi's tight budget this legislative session was loudly
proclaimed by the state's fiscal experts, so the decision to beef up
state Narcotics Bureau enforcement in Jackson is a powerful signal of
need.

"Jackson is by far the major priority," agency Director Don Strange
said of the $1 million the just-concluded 2000 Legislature added to
his budget.

The bureau will hire 30 more agents, he said, with 20 of them expected
to be assigned to the metro area.

The direct link between illegal drugs and other types of crime is no
secret.

Not only are drugs involved in the majority of property crimes
(addicts stealing to feed their drug habits) but violent crime also is
exacerbated by it.

Further, it's estimated 50 percent of the state's prison population is
doing time on drug charges and another 25 percent to 30 percent on
charges related to addiction.

The addition of more drug agents won't solve the state's prison
crowding problem or turn salvageable lives from addiction, but it
should help stem the violent and more egregious criminality of the
drug culture.

It's a definite plus for metro-area crime-fighting.