DRUG CASES SKYROCKETING

Meth use is blamed for most of increase in federal courts.

Drug cases have soared in the federal courts in Iowa and now command half
the criminal trials on the docket.

One in two criminal cases now involves drug dealing or drug use, a leap
from one in four a decade ago, new information from court administrators
shows.

The numbers represent only part of the impact of drugs on the courts. Many
other prosecutions such as burglaries or embezzlements are inspired by drugs.

The surge reflects what has long been known: Illegal drugs, especially
methamphetamine, have grown explosively in the state.

The upswing in cases has brought changes at federal courthouses, from
stepped-up security to a subtle but noticeable change in the character of
the federal docket.

In 1997, for instance, there were 148 drug cases in both districts of the
federal court in Iowa, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S.
Courts. Ten years ago, 42 drug cases were filed.

Lester Paff, an assistant U.S. district attorney in Des Moines said the
numbers reflect both tougher enforcement and the prevalence of drugs.

"Many embezzlement cases, for example, occur to support a drug habit," he
said. "There is an obvious relationship between crimes and drugs."

New and well-organized drug task forces have brought together local, state
and federal agents in recent years and have uprooted drug rings and
produced more multiple-drug arrests.

"There have been the investigations that we like to see where you take out
a whole distribution network of five, six or seven people," said U.S.
District Attorney Steve Rapp in Cedar Rapids. "The task forces are putting
those cases together."

Facing tough mandatory minimum sentences, drug dealers have been more
willing to finger suppliers and others for prosecutors.

"That obviously causes one case to lead to another, and another and
another," said Rapp.

Dale Woolery, acting coordinator of the Governor's Alliance on Substance
Abuse, said the crackdown primarily on meth has finally begun to ripple
into the federal courtrooms.

"It hit at a time when there wasn't an awareness in the state of the drug
or the dramatic devastating impact it has," contended Woolery.

"Meth leapfrogged from the Southwest," he said. "It was here and we didn't
have the lead time to deal with it. It explains the meth and, in turn, now
explains the figures we're seeing in the federal courts."

There were 5,186 drug arrests in Iowa in 1994, he said - most of them
prosecuted in the state courts. By 1996, that number had jumped to 7,283,
more than a 40 percent increase.

Reporter Frank Santiago can be reached at (515) 284-8528 or
santiagof@news.dmreg.com

Federal drug cases

1987 1992 1997

Districts Total Drugs % Total Drugs % Total Drugs %
cases cases cases

Iowa 88 24 27% 88 50 56% 159 70 44%
Northern

Iowa 79 18 23% 113 48 42% 199 78 49%
Southern

U.S. Total 49,655 13,656 28%

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski