AGENCIES SHARE RESOURCES TO FIGHT DRUG TRAFFICKING

Getting tough on drug trafficking has led to local police departments in
Beaufort and Jasper creating aid agreements to crack down on narcotics. In
August, the Ridgeland and Port Royal police departments entered an
automatic aid agreement for sharing resources on drug cases. Ridgeland
Chief Richard Woods said the idea was to help focus more man-power and
resources in a certain area.

"If we were with the county, then we'd have 600 square miles to cover,"
Woods said. "With this, we'll be able to concentrate just in Port Royal and
Ridgeland."

While Interstate 95 is infamous for being a drug-trafficking corridor,
Woods said he wanted to concentrate on the street dealers in the Ridgeland
area.

"Narcotics and drug-trafficking cases are extraordinarily time-consuming,"
Woods said. "You need guys that work these cases full-time."

Port Royal Police Chief James Cadien said he knows what it's like to have
only a few people to throw at the drug problem.

"It can be hard when you're a small department," Cadien said.

As part of the agreement, Cadien said, any joint operations that result in
seizures of money would be split evenly between the towns' police departments.

Having agreements makes sense because of the nature of the drug trade said
Maj. Matt Clancy of the Beaufort Police Department. He said neighboring
agencies can spend time and money investigating the same person, and having
the task force cuts down on that problem.

"We've been involved with the county's task force and the DEA," Clancy
said. "It's really worked well for us."

The Beaufort County Drug Task Force has been together for about a year and
includes the Sheriff's Office, the Beaufort Police, the Port Royal Police,
the Bluffton Police and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Clancy said the department probably won't seek any task force agreements
with other agencies because of manpower concerns.

"We just don't have the resources," Clancy said.

Hardeeville Police Chief James Hubbard said efficiency is one of the main
reasons to enter these type of agreements.

"Basically, we're all dealing with the same people. They don't stop at the
city limits," Hubbard said. "It helps out everybody in the long run."

Hubbard said the Hardeeville Police have agreements with the Jasper County
Sheriff's Office and the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. He said the
agreement with Jasper County has been in effect for more than a decade.