RESIDENTS THE REAL HEROES IN DRUG BUST

Photographs on the front page of the Athens Banner-Herald's July 8
edition showed law-enforcement officers rounding up some of the
dozens of suspected crack cocaine dealers who, until the day before,
had been plying their illegal trade on the streets of Athens-Clarke
County. The efforts of the law-enforcement community in rounding up
the alleged dealers shouldn't be diminished. It takes long hours and
savvy investigative and undercover work to develop cases strong
enough to convince a judge to issue warrants for several dozen people.

But the work of another group of people also must be recognized as
crucial in this effort to rid the community's streets of drug dealers.

In the story accompanying the photographs of the round-up,
Athens-Clarke County Police Lt. Mike Hunsinger, supervisor of the
department's drug and vice unit, said, "This operation focused on
street-level dealing of crack based on neighborhood complaints."

In other words, people trying to live out peaceful, law-abiding lives
saw the proliferation of crack dealers as a threat to their
neighborhoods. And instead of hiding in their homes, peeking out from
behind their blinds as their streets become havens for illicit
activity, they stood up.

Stood up and made their voices heard, to the extent that
Athens-Clarke Police Chief Jack Lumpkin asked his drug and vice unit
and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to get busy with an investigation.

Five months later, the folks who raised their voices in pleas for
help cleaning up their neighborhoods got the satisfaction of seeing
police cruisers taking people to jail. Sixty-three people were
rounded up Thursday, with additional arrests expected. Not a bad
day's work for the cops, and not a bad result for the people brave
enough to take a stand for themselves and their homes.

Lumpkin, a longtime advocate of community-oriented policing, in which
police actively solicit the involvement of the people they serve in
fighting crime, is fond of quoting Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850) on
that subject. Peel, an English politician who in 1829 established
London's metropolitan police department, is credited with being the
father of modern-day policing. He once said, "The people are the
police and the police are the people."

Last week's drug busts provide ample proof of the good that can come
when the police and the people work together to address problems. As
a result of the five-month operation, residents who went to the
police now have good reason to believe law-enforcement officers can,
and will, do more than occasionally ride by their homes. In turn,
police officers now have reason to believe at least some citizens are
behind them in their efforts to make the community safer and more livable.

It would be naive to expect last week's round-up spells the end of
crack cocaine dealing on Athens-Clarke's streets. But it has
certainly put dealers on notice they're being watched, and that any
fear harbored by residents is evaporating. That, as much as anything
else, might help dissuade other people from getting involved in dealing drugs.

And over time, with continued cooperation between residents and
police officers, there is no limit to what can happen as people take
steps, and see results, in the effort to make their neighborhoods safer.