A DRUG ON THE MOVE

A Drug On The Move

When Doug Harp began working narcotics cases for the Noble County
Sheriff's Department in the mid-1990s, methamphetamine already had
shown up in northeast Indiana.

Originally a West Coast drug, "meth" use and manufacture slowly had
been working its way east. But Harp, now the department's chief
deputy, didn't expect meth use to explode the way it has in Noble and
area counties.

"I don't think it has peaked yet," said Harp, whose department has 18
sworn officers - including those in desk jobs - to police about 420
square miles of territory.

Coping with the problem has forced area police to divert resources
from other needs. It also has sent enforcement and jail costs soaring.

Meth investigations now make up about 75 percent of Noble County
Sheriff's Department drug cases, Harp said. The total is about triple
what it was when he worked for the narcotics unit.

"Every year, that is what we see - a slight increase, a slight
increase," Noble County Prosecutor Steven Clouse said.

Clouse's office filed 411 drug-related cases last year, or more than
one a day. About 70 percent of the cases involved meth or marijuana,
he said.

The nature of meth cases also has changed, Harp said.

In early years, the Sheriff's Department arrested mostly meth users,
he said. Today, many users operate crude laboratories to "cook" their
own supply and a little extra for sale.

"We get a constant flow of tips on meth labs," Harp
said.

The department also has worked hard to educate its officers about
signs of meth use or manufacture, he said. That has paid off,
especially for Deputy Kirby Miller and his police-dog partner, Chico.

Miller and the drug-sniffing Dutch shepherd made 103 drug arrests last
year. Their work took 176 grams of methamphetamine - as well as other
narcotics - out of circulation.

But the cost of dealing with the meth problem has skyrocketed along
with the caseload.

"Whenever we do a search warrant, it takes a lot of people, a lot of
planning and a lot of time," Harp said. Raids or arrests typically
involve 10 to 12 police officers, which means the department usually
must pay some officers overtime.

In addition, busting a meth lab requires calling in what amounts to a
police hazardous materials team to clean up the toxic chemicals left
behind, he said.

The Noble County Sheriff's Department has tried to hold down overtime
pay, Harp said. The agency also has reduced costs by collaborating
with other police agencies through the Indiana Multi-Agency Group
Enforcement, or IMAGE, task force.

The task force includes officers or support from the Indiana State
Police, Auburn Police, Kendallville Police, and Noble and Steuben
county sheriff's departments. Members investigated about 140 drug
cases last year, Harp said, which averages out to one case every 2.6
days.

Taking meth users and makers off the street, however, has increased
demands on jails and prosecutors' offices.

In Noble County, the steady climb in meth arrests has resulted in a
larger jail population, Harp said. Specific figures were not available.

Meth users typically require more expensive care than other inmates,
he said.

Meth is so addictive users have a difficult time during withdrawal
from the drug, Harp said. They often are more violent than other drug
inmates. They frequently also need more medication.

Many meth inmates also need dental care, Harp said. Because meth is
made from drain cleaner, brake cleaner, ammonia and other toxic
chemicals, it eats away at users' teeth.

At the prosecutor's office, Clouse has had to handle the increased
caseload with the same staff - himself, two full-time deputy
prosecutors and a part-time deputy prosector.

"My goal is to do the best job we can with what is allocated to us,"
he said of funding. "We still are able to do that."

With the methamphetamine trade showing no signs of slowing, however,
elected officials and taxpayers face tough decisions about raising and
spending money, Harp said.

"You have X amount of dollars to work with, and it only goes so far,"
he said. "We understand that. But we could do a lot more with more
officers on the street."