LUBBOCK POLICE DROPPING OUT OF REGIONAL NARCOTICS TASK FORCE

Citing fiscal concerns, Lubbock police announced Tuesday that they will
withdraw from the South Plains Regional Narcotics Task Force and forfeit
the grant money that funds their participation in the agency.

"It was time to re-evaluate what our participation in the task force is
doing for Lubbock itself," Assistant Police Chief Tom Mann said.

Topping the list of concerns were liability issues surrounding the
department's participation in the task force.

As the department responsible for the $655,000 grant that funds the task
force, the Lubbock force is also liable for the actions of participating
officers in the 18 counties that comprise the task force, according to a
statement Tuesday.

The department also cited an increase in insurance premiums and the travel
costs associated with dispatching officers across the 18-county region.

But the primary reason for leaving the task force the department has headed
since 1988 is the need to concentrate drug enforcement efforts within the
city limits, Mann said.

"The bottom line is it's the best thing for the city of Lubbock," he said.

The decision to leave the task force will have no effect on Lubbock
County's participation.

The South Plains Regional Narcotics Task Force is a collaborative drug
enforcement effort among Lubbock, Floyd, Cochran, Hockley, Terry, Lynn,
Crosby, Bailey, Garza, Dawson, Dickens, Yoakum, Gaines, Hale, Kent, Borden,
Lamb and Motley counties.

The Police Department has no intention of abandoning drug enforcement in
the region, Mann said.

The department will continue to participate in the Drug En forcement
Administration Task Force, which according to Mann covers much of the same
region as the South Plains task force.

He also said that no Lub bock officers would lose jobs as a result of the
decision to pull out of the task force.

Currently, the grant provides funding for four police officers devoted to
narcotics enforcement. According to Mann, those officers will stay with the
department and continue their existing duties.

State Rep. Delwin Jones, R-Lubbock, said he will try to mitigate the
effects of Lubbock's withdrawal from the task force.

Although he could not comment on the long-term impact of the Police
Department's decision, he did say the move may result in a lack of
coordination among participating agencies.

Neither Jones nor Mann would speculate on who would head the agency after
Lub bock's departure.