METH TASK FORCE IDEA TAKES SHAPE

FOREST CITY - Officials have plans in the works to form a
statewide entity to continue the battle against methamphetamine.

Attorney General Roy Cooper said Wednesday at a meth summit in
Cullowhee that he would like to see the formation of a North Carolina
meth task force, modeled on the program currently operating in East
Tennessee with an annual budget of more than a $1 million.

Officials met in Marion in August to discuss the formation of the task
force. Meth began plaguing Western North Carolina several years ago.
Officers have uncovered labs at an alarming rate in the region and
user arrests have increased exponentially.

State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Van Shaw presented an item
to law enforcement officials who were present at the meeting outlining
the reasons to form the task force.

"In response to this serious problem and epidemic plaguing the
citizens of North Carolina, local, state and federal law enforcement
agencies have worked cooperatively to address this problem," said
Shaw. "However, due to the lack of funding for what are predominantly
rural, local law enforcement agencies, and given the lack of state and
federal resources, law enforcement officials have been frustrated by
its inability to combat this problem." Law enforcement, child welfare,
public health, city and county officials have expressed frustration in
the affected counties that have been hardest hit. Shaw said funds to
develop programs to educate citizens about the harmful affects of the
drug have been inadequate.

The proposed task force would include officials from the SBI, Drug
Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Attorney's Office, District
Attorneys, sheriff's departments, police departments and the North
Carolina National Guard. "The establishment of a task force would
lighten the burden on local agencies like the Sheriff's Department,"
said Sheriff's Chief Deputy C. Philip Byers.

The management of the task force would be conducted by a coordination
committee comprised of representatives from the participating
agencies. The participating agencies will select representatives for
two-year terms. The SBI would be responsible for administering the
appropriated funds allotted from grants.

The goals of the task force include providing a clandestine lab
certification training program to the officers assigned to the task
force in order to allow them to respond to hazardous sites associated
with the production of meth.

Meth is often produced in makeshift labs set up by uneducated meth
addicts that include hazardous fumes and the potential for fire. Five
officials have been injured this year as a result of responding to
meth labs. Properly trained officers are important to the disposal
process once labs have been discovered.

The task force would also provide first responder awareness training
to other law enforcement, fire and emergency medical personnel. The
task force would utilize conspiracy statutes to disrupt large
distribution organizations.

The task force would also offer educational materials like pamphlets
and videos to civic organizations and schools to further educate the
public on the dangers of meth. Meth education trailers will likely be
maintained offer instructional presentations across the state.

The task force would also establish a meth intelligence database in
coordination with the SBI. The database would receive information from
task force members and agencies to provide up-to-date information
related to meth production and distribution.

Officials are working at the ground level to get the task force under
way.