CULPEPER IS CRACKING DOWN

Culpeper Says Dramatic Increase In Drug Arrests Is Result Of Tougher
Enforcement

Culpeper town police attribute an almost 100 percent increase in drug
arrests over the past two years to more aggressive enforcement, not a
dramatic rise in the use of illegal substances.

"I think our success has a lot to do with our uniformed patrol officers
being more alert for telltale signs of drug use during traffic stops,"
Chief Dan Boring said.

With a month still remaining in fiscal 2003, town police have made 164
misdemeanor and felony drug arrests, almost double the number two years
ago, Boring's first in office. That year, 89 arrests were made, while last
year the number jumped to 163.

Almost all the arrests involved traffic stops, and the town's numbers do
not include those of the Blue Ridge Drug Task Force.

While Boring praises patrol officers for their diligence, Lt. Rick Pinksaw
thinks Boring deserves much of the credit.

"One of the first things Chief Boring did when he came here was to assign
one person to work strictly as a K-9 officer," Pinksaw said. "Using that
drug dog has led to many arrests."

Before Boring's arrival, the town force had a drug dog but his handler also
had other duties. Under the new arrangement, the handler is almost always
available.

The handler lives in town and is on call in the evening, so when an officer
makes a traffic stop and his suspicions are aroused, the K-9 unit can be on
the scene in minutes.

Results have been so positive that Boring has asked the Culpeper Town
Council for money to bring in another dog and handler.

"The two major complaints we get in this office are about speeding and drug
trafficking," he said. "We can put a man with radar out there and catch
speeders, but it takes much more work to handle the drug problem."

Despite increased arrests, neither Boring nor Pinksaw thinks the drug
problem is Culpeper has in-creased dramatically.

"I worked drug enforcement from 1995 to '99 and I see the problem as being
about the same," Pinksaw said. Most of the arrests, he added, stem from the
use and possession of crack cocaine and marijuana, which he calls
"Culpeper's drugs of choice."

Given its proximity to Washington, Pinksaw doesn't see Culpeper's drug
problem going away.

Boring said that when he came to Culpeper he realized more aggressive
enforcement was needed to combat what he saw as "a fairly serious drug
problem."

Just how bad is it?

"I don't think we're going to know that until we resolve it," Boring said.

"We've got a problem," Pinksaw said, "but we're addressing it as
aggressively as possible."