POLICE SAY METH HAVING DEEP IMPACT

Albertville Police Chief Benny Womack, speaking to the issue of
methamphetamine's impact on his department, said, "In my almost 30 years of
law enforcement I have never seen a drug - or any other issue impact a
community or county as this drug has done.

"In order to understand how it impacts this department you have to start on
the street by looking at the types of calls the officers are answering and
the different ways it is causing them to react.

"Law enforcement," Womack said, "has always been a hazardous job, but it
(meth) has placed a demand upon our officers and the department for
additional resources never before seen; such as training, equipment and
additional personnel."

The impact has been "total" said the 30-year veteran, ".all the way up the
line from the officer answering the call on the street, the jail population,
the communications center with the volume of calls, the detective division,
the records division to my office. In 1973, there were 328,670 arrests
logged in the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) for drug law violations. In
2002, that number rose to 1,538,813 arrests for drug law violations logged
in the UCR." (Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports 1973 and Crime in America:
FBI Uniform Crime Reports 2002)

Womack estimated, "90 percent of the calls my officers respond to are drug
and alcohol related. Of those, at least 70 percent are directly related to
meth in some way. By arrests for possession or manufacture, burglaries of
homes and automobiles for items to resell and buy more 'meth,' vehicle
accidents related to 'meth' use and domestic violence cases involving
divorce and child abuse due in part to 'meth' induced behavior."

Womack added, "There are safety issues for my officers investigating a call
involving 'meth' and for the public because of the personality changes
causing many of them (meth users) to become violent in the extreme."

The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy's "Amphetamine Dependence" states
in the section on Psychiatric Disorders, "Abusers of amphetamine are prone
to accidents because it produces excitation and grandiosity."

This high is followed by excessive fatigue and sleeplessness.

"Taken (by) IV, amphetamine may lead to serious antisocial behavior and can
precipitate a schizophrenic episode."

The problem of potential violent confrontations with 'meth' users has
lessened the resistance of his officers to wear body armor (commonly called
flack-jackets) on duty. "They are all more aware of the dangers," Womack
said.

"It has had an all around affect on this department. We have had to start
doing procedures once not heard of in a smaller community. We now have the
same problems the larger cities have except on a smaller scale. Police
officers use to answer calls and complaints with a lesser degree of caution.
There is nothing routine any more. There always seems to be a direct or
indirect connection with meth-it's amazing-totally amazing!"

The man, who reveres truth said, "Good, bad or ugly, citizens need to be
informed...and know what is going on. I wish every citizen could ride with
one of my officers just one time and see what this is doing to families and
small children...it will make you cry."

Terry Davis, Police Chief of neighboring Boaz, finds meth's impact on his
department much the same as Womack's.

The percentage of calls relative to methamphetamine his officers respond to
is very similar to Albertville's. "I would say between 70-80 percent of all
our calls are meth related."

Meth has influenced the need for his department to purchase their first drug
dog.

The initial, overall, costs Davis said, "For the dog, handler and additional
special training and equipment will run about $10-12,000."

As with Womack, the financial impact of meth has hit Davis' department in a
number of ways.

" I am always sending officers to specialized training dealing with meth and
all the hazards involved with it. We've purchased gas masks so they will be
protected from any potential chemical hazard. We train with the fire
department and the drug unit. I'm sending one of our officers to a 'lab
school' to learn how to deal with that problem (meth labs)."

Davis told of the potential cost if one of his patrol cars were to become
contaminated by meth related chemicals during a drug bust. "The unit,
because of EPA regulations, might have to be (literally) buried, costing my
department a potential $40,000 dollars in the loss of the unit and
equipment."

Davis spoke of Boaz having "the dubious honor of being the only city in the
county to have had two meth labs explode and the only death as a result."

The potential for more incidents placing his "officers and citizens in
jeopardy" caused the law enforcement veteran, who will begin his 29th year
in October, the most concern, "It is cheap to make, but it is so dangerous
to make, Davis said.

Marshall County Sheriff Mac Holcomb said "The impact of methamphetamine is
creating an over-crowding situation" that places him in the unenviable
position of having to "ask the County Commission to consider another
expansion" only two years after the previous 100-bed expansion.

The number of inmates incarcerated on various charges involving meth has
exacerbated the situation. As of July 13, of a population of 182 prisoners,
44 are jailed on meth related charges according to Warden Chris Brown.

Methamphetamine's impact is not just on those who use it. Like a cancer it
weaves its way through the community.