NEW SUPPORT GROUP TACKLES WAR ON DRUGS

SEABROOK - From an initiative started by former police chief William
Baker, the Seabrook Police Department is starting a "Seabrook Drug
Coalition of the Willing" to help drug- and alcohol-addicted residents.

Sgt. Michael Frost is coordinating the program under the direction of
acting Chief David Currier and acting Deputy Chief Patrick Manthorn.
Frost is looking for residents willing to sign on as volunteers to
help their neighbors and strangers overcome drug and alcohol addiction.

Those willing are asked to call the police department at 474-5200.

"How I envision it," said Frost, "we're looking for resources, those
who have been through NA (Narcotics Anonymous), AA (Alcoholics
Anonymous), the people who've lived in Seabrook and dealt with
addiction. I'm not looking for experts. I'm looking for people who
have compassion, looking to create a safety net."

The specifics of the program and how the volunteers will be employed
have yet to be worked out. It depends on what residents are willing to
take on, said Frost.

The coalition's aim is support rather than enforcement, said Frost.
The drug war will continue in the department, but the focus of the
coalition is on getting help to those who need it.

"This is not just kicking down doors and making arrests," Frost said.
"It's about developing a support network."

Currier said the department, meanwhile, is targeting drug dealers. In
most cases, dealers are users who sell drugs to support their habit,
said Currier.

"There are a lot of different tactics to take," Currier said. "We
really have to attack it at the roots where the dealers are. We know
who some of the people are."

Investigations are lengthy, and it takes time to get enough on a
suspect to get probable cause in court, he said.

Use of heroin in Seabrook has been called epidemic by Sgt. Ellen
Arcieri of the state Narcotic Investigations Unit.

Frost, who served for eight years as a consultant for the federally
initiated Northeast Regional Training for Drug Free Schools and
Communities, said Seabrook's problem, while bad, is no different than
in cities and towns throughout New England.

"I see the problem as epidemic, not just epidemic in Seabrook," Frost
said. "We have more opportunities than threats. Those opportunities
are every citizen who is willing to stand up and say, 'I'm willing to
help someone, I'm willing to help a neighbor, an addict, an
alcoholic.'"

Frost had no figures on the number of families in town affected by
drugs. Twenty-five percent of all families nationwide are touched in
some way by alcohol or drug abuse, he said.

Seabrook's close-knit community has been the subject of ridicule from
outsiders in the past. This closeness is a plus for the coalition,
said Frost. People know their neighbors.

"What's publicized as a negative is a positive in an informal
network," Frost said.

Last November, Currier went public on the heroin problem, when he told
the Board of Selectmen heroin was cheap, potent and flowing into town.
Three months after becoming chief in December, Baker held a
well-attended heroin forum and announced his intention to coordinate a
drug coalition.

Baker resigned last month, citing lack of support by the majority of
selectmen for his initiatives for the department, including his
proposal to send a Seabrook officer to the Seacoast Drug Task Force.

The town has since applied to the state for the grant money to send an
officer to the task force. The Seabrook Police Department has yet to
hear whether the grant has been approved, said Currier.