METH LAB NEARBY? CHECK THE WEB

Jefferson County residents can check to see if there have been meth labs
in their neighborhoods, thanks to a new Web site provided by the sheriff's
office.

The Jefferson County Municipal Enforcement Group has provided a link on
the sheriff's main site, www.jcsd.org , that will show addresses where
deputies have found chemicals or other items that indicated the presence
of a clandestine drug laboratory, glassware seizure or dump site, said Lt.
Scott Poe of the Jefferson County Drug Enforcement Unit.

"If people are looking to move, they can find out if there's been a meth
lab in the neighborhood," he said. "If they've already bought a house and
it wasn't disclosed, the site will let them know if there was any
activity."The locations, which are updated each month, are listed by
address and are sorted by township. The information starts from January
2007.

There were 218 meth labs seized in Jefferson County last year and 136 so
far this year, Poe said.

"We're on page to be about the same as last year," he said.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Jefferson County led the
state in 2007 with meth lab seizures, which Capt. Ralph Brown of the
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said is not necessarily a bad thing.

"This is a sign of proactive law enforcement," he told the Journal in an
earlier article. "Jefferson County deputies found and shut down more meth
labs. You can turn your head the other way, or you can be proactive."