TOUGH ON DRUGS

To Effectively Fight, Resources Must Be Committed To Battle

One way to ensure that the quality of life remains uncompromised in
Philadelphia and Neshoba County is to stay tough on drugs.

The Board of Supervisors affirmed its stance last week when members voted
to renew membership in the Tri-County Narcotics Task Force.

The task force was responsible recently for breaking up and successfully
prosecuting members of one of the largest prescription drug rings in the
Southeast that was being run out of a communal compound in rural Neshoba
County.

As shocking as that revelation was, it was really not. Big-time drug
dealers have long been rumored to operate in these parts and over the years
law enforcement has been successful at nabbing a few of the players. But
the truth is, manpower is short and dollars are few. And that's why the
task force has been so helpful to Neshoba County.

Now granted there might be other ways to fight drugs more effectively, and
committing more local resources to the effort would be one. That of course
would entail hiring more officers, buying more equipment and better
training, all of which are attainable with the support of both elected
officials and citizens.

But it's clear that a task force focused solely on drugs can be effective.
Neshoba County Sheriff Glen Waddell told supervisors that that particular
drug ring could have never been successfully prosecuted without the
resources afforded by the task force.

We can't portend to know what challenges await on the drug front nor can we
say with certainty how deep the problem is here. But we do know that with
special law enforcement units like the task force and by committing more
local funds to drug interdiction officials can't go wrong. Sheriff's
deputies, Waddell said, are stretched pretty thin, spending a great deal of
time with domestic issues and court proceedings, among other things.

There's probably not a law enforcement agency in the nation that could not
use a few more officers, but the Sheriff raised some grave concerns. How
many sheriff's deputies are enough? How many police officers? Could we ever
see the day when there was, say, combined city-county detective or drug
divisions? Imagine the efficiency!

The primary aim is to be tough on crime and that requires resources and
commitment that so far we have seen in Philadelphia and Neshoba County.