WASHINGTON COUNTY EYES CREATING TASK FORCE

As a way to fight the increasing problem of illegal drugs, law enforcement
officials in Washington County are considering creating a
multi-jurisdictional drug task force patterned on the one operating in Wood
County.

Sheriff Robert Schlicher held a meeting Friday to begin discussions on the
task force idea with representatives from the county's law enforcement,
municipal governments, county government and the public. Chief Deputy Larry
Mincks has been involved in multi-jurisdictional task forces during his law
enforcement career. He gave a presentation about aspects of the proposed
task force for Washington County.

Mincks recommended creating a board of directors to oversee the task force.
The proposed board currently calls for four members, with representatives
from the sheriff's office, the Marietta Police Department, the Belpre
Police Department and the Prosecutor's Office.

The board would hire a coordinator to work full time on the operations of
the task force, which would start as a four-person force. Along with the
coordinator, the WCSO, the MPD and the BPD would each assign an
investigator to the task force and would cover the cost of his pay and
equipment.

Agencies would provide an office and equipment away from the law
enforcement agencies since some of the investigative work would be
undercover, Mincks said.

The board would have strong controls over the task force and its
operations, Mincks said. It would pre-approve targets for investigation and
would establish investigation priorities and operating procedures for the
task force. The board would approve the amount and use of funds to be spent
in cases investigated and approve decisions critical to case management.

Minks said the board should meet monthly.

"Communication is a very important element," he said.

One of the main questions raised at Friday's meeting involved where the
funding for the task force would come from. Schlicher said his office is
still working on details but he estimated there would be about $100,000 in
startup expenses for salary, equipment and other costs and then would cost
about that amount to operate it on a yearly basis.

The police agencies would cover the costs of their officers who were
working in the task force, he said. While budgets are tight for many of the
agencies and governmental bodies, Schlicher said there are possible sources
available if the task force is created, especially through federal grant
programs.

In addition, the agencies would be able to use money forfeited in drug and
other crime cases to help cover costs of the task force. Schlicher said he
couldn't give details now but said local law enforcement is expecting to
receive forfeiture funds from drug cases to start the program.

Officials attending Friday's meeting were supportive of the concept of
creating a task force and will be looking at their resources to pursue the
idea.

"I love the idea and from what I saw presented today, it sounds pretty
good," said Marietta Police Chief Brett McKitrick.

"We'll still need to discuss it quite a bit but it's a workable program and
I think we'll go ahead with it if, financially, we can," he said.