DRUG TASK FORCE ANNOUNCES END OF OPERATIONS

EL RENO -- After six years in operation, the Canadian County Drug Task
Force will call it quits come July 1.

Though the agency has been integral in halting hundreds of drug
operations within the county over the years, manpower shortages and
budget cuts are keeping the task force from being feasible, El Reno
police Chief Fred Savage said. Investigators have been able to
significantly curtail crack, heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana,
psuedoephederine and methamphetamine operations in the county
throughout the duration of the task force, he said. "The task force
has been a very handy tool to have," Canadian County Sheriff Lewis
Hawkins said. "It's been nice to have a team of individuals we can
call on at a moments notice." The multi-agency task force, comprised
of El Reno, Canadian County and Oklahoma County law enforcement
officials, was partially funded by a grant through the Oklahoma
District Attorney's Council with El Reno's police department as the
host agency. Savage said he couldn't rationalize keeping two full-
time detectives on the task force working cases throughout the county
when their manpower was needed to maintain services for residents of
El Reno. The grant provided $126,530 last year for operating expenses,
but participating agencies contributed another $157,353 in the form of
salaries and benefits for the four investigators on the task force,
Savage said. Tom Cunningham, grant coordinator for the state District
Attorney's Council, said statistics and participation from Canadian
County's task force ranked above averages from across the state. "I'm
going to miss El Reno's participation," Cunningham said. "Their
officers were very productive." Although the official organization
will be dissolved, Hawkins and Savage agree the war on drugs will
continue. "We're not going to lose our enthusiasm," Hawkins said.
"We're going to keep working drug cases.

Investigations will not slow here in El Reno," Savage said. "Our crime
rate is down to a 10- year low. When you take care of drug problems,
you're taking care of a lot of other criminal problems, too." Even
though his staff will no longer lead drug investigations in
communities like Yukon and Mustang, Savage said he will do whatever he
can to assist departments who have not been involved on the task
force. "We'll give assistance if they (other departments) need it,"
Savage said. "We (El Reno police and Canadian County sheriff) are the
two most experienced agencies in the county when it comes to working
drugs." Mustang Chief Monte James and Yukon Chief Ike Shirley already
are developing resources to fill the void that will be left when the
task force ceases operation. "Those departments need their manpower
back," he said. "We are just going to refocus our own manpower and
starting working on drug cases." Shirley said he has a group of six
officers trained to dismantle meth labs. His department also is
examining a "no tolerance" policy when dealing with drug-related
infractions. He said officers may not be able to use discretion in
drug cases if city leadership agrees to the policy. James is looking
at collaborating with Yukon police and cultivating other resources to
help wage the war on drugs in Mustang, where three meth labs were
discovered last month. "Frankly, I'm going to miss those guys (task
force investigators)," James said. "But there are lots of agencies out
there that can assist us." Savage, although unable to establish
another task force through his department because of manpower, did say
he would be more than willing to commit an officer to a task force if
another one was initiated in the future.

(Sidebar) Task force facts

2003-2004 drug investigations by community:
El Reno 67
un-incorporated Canadian County 29
Yukon 26
Oklahoma City (within Canadian County) 19
Mustang 14
Calumet 5
Geary 4
Union City 3
Arcadia 2
Dover 1
Piedmont 1
Note: statistics reflect successful investigations resulting in one or more
arrests.

Canadian County Drug Task Force history: The task force was established in
1998 with a grant through the Oklahoma District Attorney's Council.
Originally, two officers were assigned to the task force part-time. Since
then, the staff has grown to include two full-time detectives from El Reno
Police Department and two detectives provided by Oklahoma and Canadian
counties.

The task force stopped 86 methamphetamine laboratories during the past two
years and investigated 172 drug cases that resulted in multiple arrests.
Because of manpower shortages and budget cuts, the task force will dissolve
July 1.