FEWER COPS MEANS MORE DRUG CRIMES

Everyday we're reminded that drug trafficking continues to be a major
problem in and around Paris.

Unfortunately, we seem to have fewer narcotics officers on the
streets lately even as the drug problem continues to grow. Narcotics
arrests fill the daily crime reports, and no part of the city is exempt.

If one skims through the daily reports, you get the picture pretty
quickly - probably nine of every 10 offenses are related to drugs,
either directly or indirectly. The same is true of the felony
indictments handed up by the Lamar County grand jury when it meets each month.

People are arrested for buying or selling drugs, they're arrested for
stealing something to buy drugs, or they're arrested for what they do
under the influence of drugs.

This is frightening, and the problem is getting worse, not better.

Will Paris be a good place to live if drug trafficking continues to thrive?

As the problem grows worse, the Paris Police Department no longer has
a drug task force for all intents of purposes. With those who were
assigned to the narcotics division now pulled away and assigned to
routine patrol, no drug investigations are currently going on within
the department.

A productive multi-county drug task force continues to work Paris and
Lamar County, but that's not enough at a time when drug trafficking
in the city is rampant.

It is important to have the patrol division at full force, but it's
also vital that we not pull away officers from the criminal
investigation division and the narcotics division to accomplish that.

Police Chief Karl Louis says he has no other choice. Pay and benefits
for city employees have been cut back to the point that the city no
longer can compete with other cities for officers, and overtime has
been ruled out because of budget constraints.

We pay our police officers less than other cities do, and police
officers continue to leave the force.

We can't seem to be able to hire qualified replacements. It's a
months-long process to bring a new officer on board, and Civil
Service examinations that once drew dozens of applicants now draw
only a handful.

The Paris City Council needs to put a high priority on improving drug
enforcement in the city - and right away. It's not an area we can
afford to keep on a back burner.