HELP ON WAY TO FIGHT DRUGS IN WESTERLY

WESTERLY - Fighting drug trafficking in town can be an arduous,
time-consuming venture. Westerly Police Chief Stephen Baker said he hopes
that an additional detective and maybe another K-9 unit can help the cause.

The town has budgeted enough money for the department to bring on an
additional officer, which would free up another officer to be reassigned to
work as a detective investigating drug activity. A detective sergeant and
four detectives now handle narcotics investigations.

Applications for the new detective position were due Friday. Baker said
about five people have applied for the job, which could be filled by as
early as the end of the month.

Baker said he also hopes to add a dog to the department's staff, allowing
the town to have a K-9 unit available every shift. The additional dog is not
budgeted for this year, but Baker said he might request needed funds for one
from the Town Council. A good dog can end up costing about $10,000 after
training and proper medical examinations.

Baker said he recently issued two departmental commendations to detectives
for their work on a number of successful drug busts this year.

In the first six months this year, six people were charged with delivery of
cocaine and one person with delivery of heroin. And on Friday, a Westerly
man was arrested on two heroin charges following a one-week investigation.

Many lesser drug-related arrests were made in the first half of the year,
when five vehicles and $4,400 in cash were seized during busts. The
department is eligible for some money obtained through seizures.

A detective who has been with the force 16 years and helps with drug
investigations said the department uses funds obtained through seizures to
purchase drugs from dealers to bring charges against narcotics traffickers.
Because of his job, the detective requested anonymity.

He said incident calls can come at any time, basically making it a
24-hour-a-day job. It helps, he said, to have an understanding wife.

"It's a fight we'll have to continue to fight," he said. "It's what all of
us got into police work to do."

Investigations of suspected narcotics activity can take from one week to
four or five months. Officers get tips from a variety of sources, including
arrested people, a tip line and patrol officers.

Because of the nature of alleged criminals who detectives track down, police
work in pairs during drug probes so they can't be falsely accused of
wrongdoing, Baker said. Police also work closely with the Rhode Island
attorney general's office.

Drug arrests are made in a number of ways.

Sometime people consent to have their vehicles searched, but the detective
said officers would much rather enter a situation armed with a search
warrant. He explained that with a warrant in hand, a judge has reviewed the
investigation - but many things can " go wrong" when someone consents to a
search.

Contributing to the department's narcotics crackdown are two German
shepherds - Deke, 4, and Boris, 5. The dogs work the 4 p.m. to midnight
shift.

Patrolman Steven Johnson, who works on a K-9 unit and is Deke's caretaker,
said Deke is certified as able to detect marijuana, cocaine, heroin and
methamphetamine. Johnson works as a regular patrol officer, but he receives
an additional hour of pay everyday for grooming and caring for the dog. And
when sent on special K-9 assignment, Johnson is paid an additional 5
percent.

Johnson said he is one of three Westerly officers certified as drug
recognition experts. To achieve the certification, officers must attend an
80-hour course and complete 15 successful filed evaluations, during which
they are taken to the scene of a traffic incident and made to identify what
substance the person in question has been using. Their prognosis is checked
against blood tests at a laboratory.