FOCUS ON DRUGS IS PAYING OFF IN L.B.

LONG BEACH - Drug arrests the first three months this year increased
sharply, nearly reaching the total number of drug arrests for 2003,
according to Police Chief Harley Schinker.

At the present rate, police could easily triple the number of drug
arrests by year's end. The agency reports 78 drug arrests in the first
quarter, compared to a total of 88 drug arrests in 2003 and 80 in 2002.

Schinker said the dramatic increase is a result of beefed-up narcotics
efforts in response to a public outcry.

Though Long Beach is one of Harrison County's least populated cities,
a Sun Herald analysis of fatal overdoses for 2003 shows the city had
the highest per capita death rate from drugs in the county. Of nearly
40 fatal overdoses, seven were in Long Beach.

Drug-related deaths claimed five lives countywide in 2004 from January
through March. One of the deaths was in Long Beach.

"Between our new narcotics team, patrol officers and school resource
officers, I believe we're making a difference," said Schinker, who
assumed the chief's post July 1, 2002.

A study of the agency's arrest numbers for the first quarter comes as
no surprise to residents who believe the city's youths are at risk.
About 75 percent of the arrests involve ages 26 and younger. That
includes the arrests of 15 between the ages of 13 and 17.

The data also indicates that Long Beach teenagers and young adults who
use illegal drugs or abuse controlled substances carry it with them in
their vehicles. More than half the arrests were the results of traffic
stops.

The numbers also show that marijuana is the most common cause of a
drug arrest, with a small percentage involving controlled substances.

The Police Department created a narcotics unit with a drug-sniffing
canine earlier this year and also assigned an officer to the Coastal
Narcotics Enforcement Team, a countywide investigative effort.