QUANTITY DOESN'T ALWAYS EQUAL QUALITY

Glendale Police Vice/Narcotics Officers Hope Going After Small Crimes
Prevents Larger Ones.

GLENDALE -- The officers in the Glendale Police Department's vice/narcotics
detail believe that even small drug offenses warrant serious investigation.

"The most important thing about narcotics enforcement at the local level is
preventing the little crimes that tend to fester and rise to a greater
level of crime," Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

So far this year, vice/narcotics officers have made 161 drug-related
arrests and seized several hundred thousand grams of everything from
marijuana to cocaine.

They have also seized more than $500,000 in cash, which will help fund drug
awareness and enforcement.

"We don't like chasing dollars," Lorenz said, "but when you seize drugs you
usually end up seizing assets as well."

In addition to drug trafficking, vice/narcotics officers also handle cases
involving prostitution, gambling and alcohol-license violations.

Lorenz said while Glendale has a low occurrence of prostitution and
gambling, those cases are a major priority.

"If left unattended, those activities start to create a certain kind of
neighborhood," Lorenz said.

That concern that neighborhoods not be allowed to deteriorate also plays
into the detail's alcohol investigations. Lorenz said officers pay special
attention to bars where drinking regularly leads to assaults.

Vice/narcotics officers also work to educate the community on drugs and
drug use. In the last year, Officer Tim Feeley launched a program to help
educate parents on what drugs their children may be exposed to.

"Kids receive DARE, but the parents are unaware of a lot of the newer
drugs," Feeley said.

Ecstasy, GHB and Ketamine have become the drugs of choice for many young
people, and many parents do not know what they are or what effects they can
have, Feeley said.

Though Ecstasy seizures have increased, Lorenz said investigators still
find a wide variety of drugs in Glendale.

With the belief that every possession arrest could lead to a dealer, it is
not uncommon for vice/narcotics officers to start a shift at 6 a.m. and not
head home until midnight.

"We have to work on drug-dealer hours," Lorenz said.

But the officers on the detail believe that kind of persistence sends a
message to drug users and distributors.

"If you sell drugs, we're going to come and get you," Lorenz said. "That
sends a message, and word travels fast."