DRUGS IN TOWN?

When District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett and Sheriff Frank Cousins
held a symposium on the battle against heroin recently,
Georgetown Police Chief James Mulligan and four of his officers
were in attendance, he was asked several times why.

"I told them, Georgetown is not an island," said Mulligan. "We've
got a major interstate running through our community with Route
95, a known drug route."

His officers patrol a stretch of Route 95 and he wants them as
informed as possible.

"Everything that happens elsewhere happens here, on a smaller
scale," said Mulligan.

Mulligan, a 30-plus year veteran of law enforcement, said he and
his fellow officers have watched the ebb and tide of drug abuse
over the years. Opiate drugs, like heroin, have been on the rise for
the last 10 years and have lost the stigma they once had that they
were not upscale enough for suburban drug abusers.

"Back in 1996, I worked for a chief who said, 'We have lost the war
on drugs,'" said Mulligan. While he doesn't believe it is an
unstoppable problem, Mulligan agrees that current methods simply
aren't enough to stop drug abuse.

"We spend so much effort on the fight against drugs in law
enforcement," said Mulligan. "The drugs change, the faces change,
but (law enforcement officials) haven't taken the steps we need."

While drug abuse isn't number one on the list of most common
issues reported to the police, the department has its fair share of
calls on the matter.

"We get reports all the time," said Mulligan.

If a serious case were to arise, they would call in assistance from
the state police. The Georgetown PD is also in communication with
a drug task force based in Newburyport.

"If we get a call, we'll take a look and determine if we need to take
it to the state police," said Mulligan. "We'll do what's called a 'knock
and talk,'" said Mulligan. Officers will stop by, let the resident know
they are aware of what's going on - which, in many cases, is
enough to cause the activity to cease, or at least relocate.

The upside to such a small community is the familiarity of the faces
in every neighborhood.

"In a place like Georgetown, suspicious behavior stands out more,"
said Mulligan. "Our officers literally know almost everyone in town.
They're great at spotting when something is out of place."

Solving the drug problem can't truly come down to enforcement,
but instead to education and setting a good example in every
possible way, said Mulligan.

"We're not the answer," said Mulligan.