CLINTON POLICE FOCUSING ON DRUGS

With six months of management under his belt, Clinton Police Chief Rick
Scarbrough has his department running smooth as silk.

Scarbrough said he made no structural changes in the department during his
first five months as chief of police, but in the sixth month he launched a
traffic unit to help with his and his department's main focus -- the
elimination of illegal drugs.

"We're focused on a mission of trying to eliminate drug trafficking,"
Scarbrough said. "In the month of April, we made more drug arrests than in
the first three months combined."

By moving some personnel around and getting the traffic unit up and
running, Scarbrough said officers are enthusiastic about the job they are
doing.

"We're trying to get maximum results out of the resources available," he
said. "The entire department is caught up in the traffic unit's enthusiasm.
In 2001, we made 97 drug arrests and in the last six months, April to
September, we've made 114 drug arrests.

"We have good people, special people, I know that," Scarbrough said. "But
in the past six months they've shown the community that they are."

Scarbrough said he has put more cars and more patrols on the road,
increasing visibility. By doing so, he noticed a decrease in business
burglaries during the summer.

In the last six months, Scarbrough said the department has issued new
firearms and bulletproof vests and has five new cars. He said the old cars
are being refurbished and are being used on low maintenance shifts. He said
statistics reported to the state have in some cases doubled. He said the
previous record for drug arrests, set in April, was broken in July.

"The guys (officers) are really working real hard," he said.

Scarbrough said more personnel could be added with the addition of the
school resource officer program. The Justice Department grant money will
pay for putting six officers in four schools. The two high schools will
have two officers.

"Clinton (High School) has the largest enrollment but Anderson County has
the larger campus," he said.

"This city is growing with industrial development," Scarbrough continued.
"We're experiencing growing pains. With new families moving in all the
time, new problems come in. But the number one problem is the drug problem.
It is the root of everything going on. Oxycontin is out of control, and
until the state finds a way to regulate it, or do something, we don't know
what we are going to do about it."

Scarbrough said Oxycontin and hydrocodone are two of the most frequently
found drugs when arrests are made. He said methamphetamine is also a major
problem but has to be addressed in another way.

"Meth is so underground it's hard to get a feel of how you are doing," he
said. "When a lab can fit in a cardboard box, it's hard to track."

Scarbrough said one of his most difficult tasks is getting citizens to
realize what is going on in Clinton and in Anderson County.

"It's still the best place to raise a family," he said. "But we have issues
in town."

One issue Scarbrough is not concerned about is the new liquor-by-the-drink
ordinance recently passed. He said he has not seen an increase in drunken
driving because of it.

"We plan to do bar checks like we do at Harrison's," he said about
restaurants that plan to build near Interstate 75 in the near future.

"We are getting a lot of support from the community and from City Council
to get the resources we need," he said. "I'm really encouraged with Bill
White (Anderson County sheriff) and his staff. With their assistance and
support, communications couldn't be better right now."

Scarbrough said working with other agencies is key to stopping the drug
trafficking in Anderson County. He said he would like to look to a drug
task force in the future.

"I would like to look in that direction as long as it is equitable to each
community," he said.