MOVE DRUG SQUAD

Continued Drug-Related Violence Signals Need To Consolidate
Drug-Fighting Effort In The Countywide Police Department.

DESPITE SOME recent high-profile shootings and robberies, the larger
picture of violent crime this year in Savannah is somewhat encouraging.

This week, statistics from the FBI and Savannah-Chatham County police
department showed a 7 percent decrease this year in crimes such as
murder, robbery, rape and aggravated assault.

While the percentage is less than the 15 percent dip that Police
Chief Michael Berkow was hoping for, it does show that things are
trending in the right direction for 2008 compared to 2007.

Now, let's hope the Chatham County Commission can help the community
take a bigger bite out of crime by putting the countywide drug squad
under the countywide police department.

The Sept. 6 slaying of a BP clerk during a botched robbery at a
southside convenience store, along with the suspected gunman's
subsequent arrest, rightly captured the public's attention.

But less visible were the multiple shootings - seven in six days this
month - that were drug-related.

Such crimes tend to occur in poorer neighborhoods. The victims and
perpetrators tend to have prior police records. Hence, these
shootings don't get the same public attention as the killing of an
innocent, hard-working store employee, and they elicit less sympathy.

Drug-related violence, however, remains a major contributor to the
community's crime woes. Letting rival drug dealers shoot it out,
creating more work for hospitals and funeral homes, is no solution.

Innocent people can get shot in these hails of bullets, too. And even
when no one is wounded (drug dealers tend to be notoriously poor
shots), who wants to live in neighborhoods that resemble the Wild West?

That's why pro-active, smart and coordinated policing that focuses on
positive outcomes is a must.

The Counter Narcotics Team is the primary, local drug-enforcement
unit. It operates independently. And while an independent CNT may
have been appropriate when the community had separate county and city
police departments, it's inappropriate now.

Even national law enforcement experts with the Police Executive
Research Forum believe the CNT should operate under the chain of
command of the countywide Savannah-Chatham Metropolitian Police Department.

Elected leaders in Chatham's smaller municipalities, which operate
their own police departments, may be concerned what might happen to
drug enforcement if the CNT doesn't remain independent. Here's the
short answer: Nothing has to change.

Drug dealers don't respect municipal boundaries. It's always in the
interest of the CNT, whether it's independent or under the metro
police chief, to pursue drug crimes wherever they occur.

It's encouraging that violent crime is slightly down. But it would be
more encouraging to see Commission Chairman Pete Liakakis, who is
seeking re-election this year, and the rest of the county
commissioners give police a big helping hand in the battle against
drug violence and fold the CNT into metro police.

There's only so much police officers can do to reduce drug crimes.
There's more that elected officials can do.