A NEW COMMANDER

ROY HARRIS officially takes the oath of office today, taking over
supervision of the combined city-county drug task force.

Mr. Harris will become Counter Narcotics Team commander at a
swearing-in ceremony at the Chatham County Commission meeting.

The 57-year-old law officer brings a wealth of experience to the
position.

He will need to put all of that experience to work to hit the ground
running in the struggle to rid Savannah and Chatham County of drugs
and the violence they bring with them.

A former agent for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Mr. Harris
supervised drug enforcement for the Macon office, coordinating with
several law enforcement agencies in central Georgia.

That same type of teamwork will be needed at the CNT, which combines
officers from the sheriff's office and the municipalities in the fight
against drug crime.

Besides an ability to harmonize separate agencies in common action,
Mr. Harris also has important supervisory experience, serving as
deputy director of the GBI before retiring in 2002.

The new commander has rightly made beefing up the CNT a top priority.
Fully staffed at 40 officers, the CNT is currently at 27 officers.

Whether fighting crack cocaine in the inner cities or methamphetamine
in the rural areas, those tasked with disinfecting drug-ridden corners
of the county need the leadership and the manpower necessary to have
an impact.

We have entrusted our new CNT commander with leadership of the
drug-fighting effort.

Now, it's up to the agencies who are short on the number of officers
loaned to the CNT to devote more manpower to a critically important
job.

The new commander has rightly made beefing up the CNT a top priority.
Fully staffed at 40 officers, the CNT is currently at 27 officers.