CITY'S WAR ON DRUGS NEEDS AID

Panel asks White House team for agents, money

NEW BEDFORD -- Despite a valiant effort to battle drugs, New Bedford needs
more federal dollars to help with prevention, treatment and enforcement,
local leaders told a team of White House policy makers yesterday.

Particularly pointed were the calls for a greater federal law-enforcement
presence in the city and surrounding region.

Both Police Chief Arthur Kelly III and Kevin Connelly from the Bristol
County district attorney's office pleaded with the federal officials to
open a local office for the Drug Enforcement Administration, the
Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco
and Firearms. Currently, INS has one agent stationed in the Police
Department, and the two DEA agents assigned to the city work out of the
Cape Cod bureau.

"Time after time we have heard talk of the establishment and opening of DEA
offices in New Bedford, yet they have not yet come to pass," said Chief
Kelly. "A presence that is designed to focus resources and attention on the
drug issues in our community and surrounding areas will make great strides
toward enhancing our efforts to increase the quality of life for our
citizens."

The federal team coordinated by the president's Office of National Drug
Control Policy included representatives from the Justice Department, the
Office of Housing and Urban Development, and the U.S. Center for Substance
Abuse Prevention. Also present during the two-hour forum at the
Hayden-McFadden Elementary School were U.S. Attorney Donald Stern and Mayra
Rodriguez-Howard, director of the state's Bureau of Substance Abuse Services.

Noting that the panel had met earlier with state and federal law
enforcement officials, ONDCP's deputy director for the Bureau of State and
Local Affairs, Joseph Peters (pictured at top right), said the city might
see progress in getting a local DEA presence "sooner rather than later."

Budget problems had prevented DEA from following through with earlier plans
to open a local office, said Mr. Stern, but he was willing to sit down with
local officials to consider creative solutions to the problem.

The panelists and federal officials engaged in a back-and-forth dialogue
when Mr. Connelly said his office opposes the creation of a drug court in
New Bedford. The district attorney's office would rather see more resources
allocated to the present, overloaded court system, he said.

"New Bedford already has a drug court, it's the 3rd District Court," he said.

His fellow panelist, Carl Alves, director of the treatment and outreach
agency Positive Action Against Chemical Action, took a slightly different
stand, advocating for more alternative sentencing programs. He noted the
city had tried unsuccessfully several years ago to start a drug court.

Both representatives from ONDCP indicated their support for
"paradigm-shifting" programs such as a drug court that concentrated on case
management and rebuilding families.

Also during his testimony, Mr. Alves asked for more funding to expand
programs for youngsters, to expand outreach, treatment and harm reduction
programs, and to support the creation of a master plan for drug treatment
and prevention in the region.

Local panelist Joel Burns, director of human resources for The
Standard-Times, told the federal officials of the financial toll drug use
takes on the business community, in the form of absenteeism, drug testing,
and programs to counsel employees.

Repeatedly during the session, the federal officials praised New Bedford's
approach to the problems of drug abuse and trafficking.

"I'm impressed with the level of involvement," said Mr. Peters, "and at the
insight into these issues."

His colleague Sandra Lawson agreed.

"It's good to know New Bedford is on the right track," she said several times.

Mr. Peters praised the emphasis on treatment, noting that was a priority
for ONDCP. Addressing the requests for additional funding, he noted that
the recent designation of New England as a federal High Density Drug
Trafficking Area could help attract federal seed dollars.

The local presentations resulted from a planning session several weeks ago
involving more than 50 people, including representatives of outreach
organizations, law enforcement agencies and treatment providers.

Today, after a 9 a.m. press conference, the Washington visitors will walk
through the Bay Village Housing Development and the Acushnet Avenue area of
the city's South Central neighborhood.

The team will write up a report on its visit and make recommendations to
the city at a later date.

Drug czar Barry R. McCaffrey, a Southeastern Massachusetts native, agreed
to send the team to New Bedford last winter after speaking with Mayor
Frederick M. Kalisz Jr. during a function at the White House.

The mayor has said he hopes the team of experts will help the city tap into
additional funding sources for its battle against drug abuse and addiction.