CRACKDOWN ON DRUG HOT SPOTS

Oakland Police Chief Announces Aggressive Plan To Keep Dealers Out

Oakland Police Chief Richard Word unveiled an aggressive plan yesterday to
target the city's rampant open-air drug markets, declaring that narcotics
miscreants will soon be on their way out of town.

For 90 days beginning this weekend, police will make their presence known
at some 100 drug areas throughout the city, including 50 in east Oakland,
20 in central Oakland and 30 in north and west Oakland.

And within a few weeks, officers will then crack down on nine of the most
serious narcotics hot spots within those areas. Word said every active drug
market will be policed until it is closed.

"A lot of our violent crime has a connection to drugs," Word said. "This
clearly has to be our No. 1 priority. We are going to establish a new tone
- -- that this city is not a haven for drugs. We want to make it a hostile
environment."

Word, who as a rookie cop in the 1980s worked as an undercover narcotics
officer, outlined his anti-drug proposal at an annual Oakland City Council
retreat.

The officers, many of whom are from the community policing unit, will "try
to anticipate where the dealers will try to move," Word said.

Instead of simply forcing drug dealers out, only to see them come back
later, the chief said plans are under way to make sure they stay out.
Supervisory lieutenants will be held accountable for making sure shuttered
markets stay that way.

Oakland officers will be assisted by Alameda County sheriff's deputies and
agents with the state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement and federal Drug
Enforcement Administration.

The nine hot spots include three each in east Oakland's Elmhurst and
Fruitvale districts, one in west Oakland and two in north Oakland. Word
noted that many drug dealers who frequent narcotics corridors along
Hegenberger Road and 23rd and 98th avenues are from out of town.

At the retreat, Councilwoman Jane Brunner voiced concerns that enforcement
strategies alone would not put an end to Oakland's drug problems. Brunner
and other City Council members said they supported drug treatment centers
and job training as alternatives.

"If you pick three neighborhoods to deal with, these kids are not dumb --
they'll just move," said Brunner, adding she has seen drug dealing on the
same corner in North Oakland for four years. "I think it has to be a united
approach."

City Manager Robert Bobb said he will work to find the resources for more
drug treatment programs, calling them "the most effective crime-prevention
tool."

Word also said he hopes to get members of the clergy involved to help
counsel drug abusers.