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State prosecutors are taking a look ahead in the " war
on drugs, " and they're looking to win.

A drug control strategy proposed by the state District
Attorneys Council for the next three years advocates such
gettough measures as targeting major distributors and
stepping up state trooper efforts to erase the labeling of
Oklahoma as a "crossroads" for interstate drug travel.
Also included are social measures such as keeping children
in school and a rededication to drugprevention programs,
increasing community involvement with law enforcement and
turning all workplaces, schools and public places into
"drugfree" zones.

The use and distribution of drugs in Oklahoma continues
to be the "largest driving influence of both personal and
property crimes in the state," the report says.

A large percentage of Tulsa County's felony cases is
drug charges, District Attorney Bill LaFortune said.

"We've heard the comment, even criticism, that our
county sends more drug offenders to the Department of
Corrections than any other county in the state on a
percapita basis," LaFortune said.

"I'll accept that criticism" if it means convicting
drug offenders, he said.

The threeyear strategy is submitted to the U.S. Bureau
of Justice Assistancein order to secure more than $ 6.5
million in federal drug enforcement funds for state
agencies during the next year.

The District Attorneys Council is the administering
agent of the Federal Drug Control and System Improvement
Formula Grant Program.

The strategy is developed to assist its board in
targeting available resources for the greatest impact
problems.

There were 109 projects funded in Oklahoma last year
with $ 6.2 million in federal monies.

A forecasted problem over the next three years for
Oklahoma and the nation as a whole is the increased
highway transport of illegal drugs.

The report states that "Oklahoma is said to be a
crossroads for the nation. Current law enforcement
manpower is unable to keep pace" with increases in drug
trafficking through the use of private and rental vehicles
and, increasingly, tractortrailer rigs.

The vision of the District Attorneys Council is for the
Oklahoma Highway Patrol, along with smaller agencies, to
expand drug interdiction efforts.

Motorists could see more incidents of suspicious
vehicles pulled over to the road shoulder, with officers
and specially trained dogs sniffing out drugs and
offenders.

"I think Oklahoma is about to see a dramatic increase
in those kinds of busts," said Gayle Caldwell, director of
federal programs for the council. "We're seeing more
applications come in from across the state to do that kind
of work."

State crime statistics show 12,672 drug arrests in 1995
compared to 11,321 arrests in 1994, a year in which the
state also incurred a doubledigit percentage increase in
drug arrests over the year before.

Rural areas of the state are increasingly contributing
to these numbers and suffer from the same drug problems as
their urban counterparts.

The criminal justice system must make a commitment to
train rural officers in drug interdiction and intelligence
work, according to the report. Many sheriffs' offices
are on the brink of fiscal collapse and cannot afford to
provide these necessary services.

"It is rare if most sheriffs' agencies in the state are
able to provide even the most basic of law enforcement to
(their) citizens," the report says. "There is a
correlation between illicit drug activity and the increase
in the crime rate," necessitating the training.

The state has seen an alarming increase in juvenile
crimes in recent years, and the council's primary
prevention efforts center on students and schools.

"We must work harder at keeping kids in school. We
need to evaluate our current efforts and determine
whether or not our programs are working," the report
states.

The schoolbased Drug Abuse Resistance Education
program is given a strong vote of confidence by the
council, which suggests in the report that the state make
DARE a part of its education budget and provide the
program to all state schools. "This program will only fail
if it is not continued. The message needs to be a part of
educational studies for kindergarten through 12th grade,"
the report says.

Parents must supplement the education children are
receiving in programs like DARE, said Mark Woodward,
spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

"We've got to get people to the point that they don't
want to do drugs. That's hard, but it begins at home,"
Woodward said.

He cited a recent study that showed that only about
onethird of students are learning about the dangers of
drugs from parents.

"As long as we have that attitude, we won't win the
war on drugs, " Woodward said.

Increased community support, more effective drug
treatment in correctional facilities and mandatory
incarceration in criminal cases involving possession of
large amounts of drugs are among other council priorities.
The council proposes 36 objectives to be completed over
the course of the threeyear strategy. Among the
objectives members would hope to meet in the first year,
with proper funding, are: Provide more alternative
drugfree activities to state youths.

Establish, enforce and publicize school drug policies.

Target cultivation, importation, distribution and
transportation of illegal drugs in Oklahoma.

Continue commitment to schoolbased programs such as
DARE.

Provide updated and relevant statewide training for
drug enforcement officers.