DRUG FIGHTERS NO LONGER ALLIES

Drug dealers, gamblers and pimps must be chortling. The Wilmington Police
Department has stopped working with the New Hanover County Sheriff's
Department to fight drugs and vice.

From now on, police officers and deputies will work separately on their
common problems. City residents will pay taxes to support both departments -
and wonder whether they're getting their money's worth.

Probably not.

In a small metropolitan area such as New Hanover County, it's only logical
to coordinate law-enforcement efforts. To do otherwise is to waste time,
waste money and waste opportunities.

Police Chief John Cease understood that when he was hired six years ago. He
approached then-Sheriff Joe McQueen about combining the efforts of their
vice and narcotics officers.

Mr. McQueen quickly agreed, saying it was a mistake when Mr. Cease's
predecessor dissolved a similar arrangement several years before.

The joint operation, run by a deputy who is now the sheriff, seemed to work
well at first. But in the past year or so, Mr. Cease let it be known that he
wasn't happy.

From the outside, it's hard to know whether the chief had valid reasons for
that or whether he and his officers were mainly unhappy that somebody from
the other department was in charge.

Whatever the reason or reasons, Mr. Cease and new Sheriff Sid Causey failed
to patch things up. They've gone their separate ways.

If anybody thought it would be easy to combine city and county departments
or to consolidate the city and county governments, this latest episode
should snap them back to reality.

Deputy Police Chief Tandy Carter says the new arrangement will allow city
residents to hold the department more accountable.

True enough. If drugs and drug-related crimes continue to increase in the
city, residents will know who's responsible.