GOOD CALL FOR DRUG FIGHT

Sandusky Police Chief Kim Nuesse is taking yet another new approach
to improve her department and the community.

The chief recently started a drug hotline so community members can
anonymously report any drug activity they may have information about.
It can be a neighbor or something you see while driving down a city street.

The hotline and the e-mail, Drugtips@ci.sandusky.oh.us, are ways to
improve drug enforcement in Sandusky. It can't replace the Erie
County Drug Task Force, which was disbanded because of a lack of
funds from the contributing departments, but it's an effort to curb
drug abuse in the city.

"This is something we are trying out to see how it works," Nuesse
said last week.

The department saw a jump in drug-related arrests last year,
according to its annual report. The department made 383 more
drug-related arrests in 2006 than 2005. Marijuana arrests increased
by 70 to 429. Cocaine, heroine and the category "other drugs" also
showed increases. Cocaine arrests went from 248 to 361.

After the department receives a tip, officers will do a background
check on the location or person and start the investigation process.

As drug activity in Sandusky and across the county continues to rise
at an alarming rate, any effort to stop the drug trade is a
commendable one. We at the Register want to encourage citizens to
take advantage of this hotline. We recently printed a story about a
homeowner who will lose thousands of dollars because a tenant was
making highly toxic drugs in a rental property. Had just one person
picked up on this activity and reported it to police, his home may
have been saved.

And the best thing about this hotline is it will not cost taxpayers
anything. So pick up the phone and give them a call. It can only make
Sandusky a better place to live.