CHIEF: GOING AFTER DRUG DEALERS LOWERS CRIME RATE

Laurel Police Chief Tim Waterson said a crackdown on illegal drugs was a
major cause in the reduction of Laurel's crime rate for the second year in
a row in most categories.

Waterson released the 2002 Index Crime Statistics Wednesday.

The FBI releases crime information every year. The federal organization
looks at statistics in homicides, rapes, aggravated assaults, robberies and
burglaries, larceny, auto theft, and sometimes arson. Laurel crimes were
down in every category except robberies and burglaries.

"We're targeting the dealers," Waterson said. "We had one of the largest
cocaine bust in history this year and the largest marijuana bust. We've got
95-percent of crimes being drug related because people are trying to gain
money to buy drugs."

Police departments across the nation report monthly to the FBI. Federal
agents then take that information to compare crime rates to other cities.
They base figures on a population of 100,000. For example, if a city has 4
homicides and a population of 20,000, the figure would be rounded to 20
homicides per 100,000 people.

Waterson said the statistics help police departments know which programs
work and which ones don't.

"We've had some changes in philosophy in the department," Waterson said.
"Officers are very diligent about crime prevention. We're not only working
on law enforcement but on crime prevention. There is also a lot more
sharing of information between units in the department."

The Laurel Police Department responded to 1,306 traffic accidents and
39,281 responses to calls.

"Overall, I am very happy with the way the department performed and how
they worked together," Waterson said.