COUNTY LEADS STATE IN DRUG-RELATED ARRESTS

Being the oldest drug unit of its kind in the state may be one reason
the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force is the most successful in
catching drug dealers.

Based on 2004 statistics from the Alabama Criminal Justice Information
Center, the most recent numbers available, Tuscaloosa County leads the
state in arrests of both adult and juvenile participants in illegal
drug sales.

With 168 adults and 11 youths charged that year, Tuscaloosa County
edged out Barbour County in the adult category (139 adults arrested)
and Jefferson County in the juvenile category (nine arrests).

Not every person arrested for dealing drugs in Tuscaloosa County was
busted by the narcotics task force. Police, sheriff's deputies and
Alabama State Troopers have run across drug dealing of all sorts
during traffic stops.

But most arrests came as the result of investigations conducted by the
12 agents and two assistant district attorneys that make up the task
force, which began operation in 1972.

Tuscaloosa Police Chief Ken Swindle, who arrived at the department two
years after the force was created, said its origins were rooted in
federal Law Enforcement Planning Agency grants handed down earlier
that decade. Its purpose was to coordinate the county's various law
enforcement agencies and streamline the investigative process while
ensuring officers' safety.

When the money ran out in the late 1970s, the West Alabama Narcotics
Task Force continued, while other, similar agencies folded, Swindle
said. It operated strictly on local money until 1989, when federal
grants administered through the Alabama Department of Economic and
Community Affairs became available.

It has received funds from ADECA ever since, Swindle
said.

Since then, the unit has grown in numbers and honed its investigative
tactics to become one of the most active drug units in the state.

"We're charging 1,600 defendants with 2,000-plus charges each year --
that's an average," said Capt. Jeff Snyder, commander of the unit.
"Every year the task force makes more arrests and charges than the
previous year.

"We're just a very aggressive unit."

Such high numbers are not indicative of a major drug problem in
Tuscaloosa County, said District Attorney Tommy Smith.

Rather, it's a combination of factors, including the presence of the
Interstate 20/59 corridor, three college campuses, growing urban areas
and widespread rural areas, places that typically foster
methamphetamine production.

"All those things come together," Smith said. "But more than anything,
the effectiveness of the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force is what's
led to this."

Snyder linked the unit's success to its emphasis on catching dealers,
as well as the support it gets from the agencies and communities it
protects.

Swindle also said the fervor with which the unit pursues cases is
reflected in its arrest rate, but also said the West Alabama Narcotics
Task Force has one weapon no other unit in the state has.

"Jeff Snyder," Swindle said. "He's one of the most innovative and
aggressive captains that we've ever had in narcotics."

The drug arrests also have a residual effect, Snyder said, pointing
out that many drug dealers are also involved in thefts, burglaries or
robberies throughout the county.

"When we arrest people on sale cases, they're probably the most
effective drug arrest we make," he said.

Swindle noted that about 85 percent of those arrested in Tuscaloosa on
drug charges have ties to other crimes.

"We know they're getting that money from somewhere because they don't
have jobs," Swindle said.

It also helps improve the quality of life in neighborhoods where
dealers congregate.

"Getting people on distribution cases are usually you're street
dealers, and these are the ones that people see," Snyder said. "If we
can target those on the street level, that's very helpful in curbing
distribution.

"It just has an overall good effect."

Gov. Bob Riley has said publicly that he believes targeting drugs can
eliminate other crimes.

"Drugs and crime go hand-in-hand, so to fight crime we must continue
aggressive efforts at the local level to remove illegal drugs from our
communities," Riley said in a press release.

But some officials have questioned why, in that case, funding for the
unit has been slashed in recent years.

In the past, the drug task force received in excess of $300,000 from
the state.

On Tuesday, Gov. Bob Riley's office announced it was awarding $160,000
to the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force through the Alabama
Department of Economic and Community Affairs.

Riley spokesman Mike Presley said the money is a matching grant for
salaries.

The grant helps fund the nine officers supplied to the unit by the
Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office, police departments for Tuscaloosa,
Northport and the University of Alabama as well as two lawyers from
the Office of the District Attorney.

Snyder's salary is not included in that grant, and both he and Smith
said $160,000 is 50 percent of what the unit used to receive.

"That's a real travesty that the funding to fight the war on drugs has
been cut by half, in this county," Smith said. "We're going to do the
work, but we need the resources and the support to do it with."

Presley blamed the reduction on the federal government, saying the
U.S. Justice Department has provided less money to the states in
recent years.

Both Swindle and Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ted Sexton have said in
recent months that Tuscaloosa and the county could suffer with such
cuts in funding.

And it's a problem that only stands to get worse.

President Bush's proposed budget calls for $792.8 million in cuts to
two federal programs that support local law enforcement agencies,
including drug task forces. Much of that money is being redirected to
homeland security programs, officials said.

"I can't understand why money is being pulled for homeland security
when it's a war on the streets every day with the drugs we're facing,"
Swindle said. "I'm not knocking homeland security -- I think it's got
its place -- but for cities like Tuscaloosa, Northport and other
municipalities in Alabama, we need to money to fight the war on drugs
everyday on our ground."

Despite its record in arresting drug dealers, Tuscaloosa County isn't
getting any more money than others in the state. And it's not getting
less, either.

The grants this year are similar to those in 2005 (Snyder said this is
the second year the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force received
$160,000), when the biggest sum for a regional drug task force --
$185,000 -- went to west Jefferson County, which targets Fairfield,
Hueytown and Pleasant Grove.

Not every agency has received this year's grant, but the least amount
has gone to Barbour and Bullock counties, which received $87,500 each.

Snyder said he'd appreciate more money, pointing out that the previous
grants paid for all the salaries, plus some equipment. Now, the task
force must tap into funds seized through the arrests it makes, as well
as other sources.

"We're extremely grateful," Snyder said. "It's a godsend. It's like
the glue that keeps the task force together, for the most part.

"When we have something and we need to do it, I've got the resources
and we're ready to go. The grant helps keep that going."