MOVING DRUG COPS TO PRECINCTS IS WORKING, POLICE CHIEF SAYS

Officers Can Act On Tips More Quickly, So Arrests, Drug Seizures Are Rising

Moving Nashville's street-level undercover drug units out of the central
office this summer is already having a major impact, Metro Police Chief
Ronal Serpas said yesterday.

In a conference room scented with marijuana, 75 pounds of which - worth
$75,500 - was stacked in bricks on the table, Serpas praised his officers'
hard work.

The cache was found in a closet during the execution of a search warrant at
4997-B Karen Ray Drive last Wednesday, police said. Investigators suspect
the pot was going to be divided up and sold to street dealers.

Seizures of marijuana, cocaine, guns and drug-related money are all on the
rise, as are drug-related arrests, since the police units were
decentralized, Serpas said.

The department compared the first six months of this year with the period
after decentralization occurred - July, August, September and the first
half of October. Police were not able to provide statistics immediately
comparing the period after decentralization to the same time period in 2003.

Since July, the decentralized drug units have made 1,068 arrests, seized
almost 24 pounds of cocaine, 230 pounds of marijuana, 100 guns and nearly
$210,000 in cash, police statistics show.

"Decentralization works," Serpas said. "It's fantastic."

Capt. Louise Kelton, head of the North Precinct, and Capt. Rick Lankford,
head of the South Precinct, said that having the officers in the precincts
allowed them to respond to tips faster.

"We're taking (dealers) down right, left and center," Kelton said. One
dealer even called last week and asked to be arrested, she said.

Lankford's officers were able to make an undercover buy within an hour of
getting a tip last week instead of having to wait for the information and
planning to filter down from a centralized command center, he said.

"The No. 1 complaint we get is of people selling dope on the corner,"
Serpas said.

"I want the citizens of Nashville to know that if you're slinging dope on
the corners, we're coming for you."

Serpas said the concentration on lower-level dealers did not take away from
efforts to bust bigger dealers, as well.

The name of one man arrested in last week's raid was not released because
police did not want to jeopardize other parts of a continuing
investigation, police said.

On Sept. 22, officers seized 62 pounds of marijuana from the Murfreesboro
Pike/Fesslers Lane area, police said. That investigation also is continuing.

Decentralization vs. centralized department

In July, the Metro Police Department moved its street-level undercover drug
units from the central office to the outlying precincts. In the months
since, police say they have seen an increase in many crimefighting
measurements compared to the first six months of the year, when the units
were centralized.

The Police Department could not immediately provide statistics comparing
the time period after decentralization to the same time period last year.

Before vs. decentralization of street-level drug units*

Number of arrests - 637 vs. 1,068

Marijuana seized -30 pounds vs. 230 pounds

Cocaine seized 2.03 pounds vs. 23.7 pounds

Guns seized - 31 vs. 100

Money seized $65,478 vs. $209,962

Drug charges - 661 vs. 738

*Before is January-June. After is July-Oct. 15. The Central Precinct does
not have its own undercover drug unit, but the other five precincts do.

Source: Metro Police Department