Fighting Back: Part 2a

STUDY: 50% OF DRUG-USING SCHOOL SENIORS ROBBED

Authorities See Drug Abuse, Violent Crime Link

Young people who use drugs are more likely to be victims of violent crime
or to commit a crime, according to a study by the National Center for
Juvenile Justice.

South Mississippi authorities have become more diligent in warning kids
about the potential dangers of drug use, in part, because of youth crime
statistics and the side effects of many new drugs. They also are seeing an
increase in drug-related violence, particularly during arrests at a growing
number of clandestine methamphetamine labs.

"We're seeing more violence overall, and most frequently with meth lab
arrests because most of our meth cases involve firearms, explosive devices
or people in some way intimidated by the people they're dealing with," said
Ed Dickey, resident agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration's district
office in Gulfport.

An ongoing report maintained by the U.S. Justice Department indicates that
young drug users are at risk of danger not only from the drugs they use,
but also from the dealers who provide drugs for them and for the people
they hang around with.

What studies show

According to one survey, more than half the high school seniors who
reported using drugs other than marijuana in a 12-month period were robbed.
About one-third said they were assaulted and another third said they were
threatened with a weapon.

However, nearly half the kids who used drugs other than marijuana admitted
shoplifting or stealing money or items of value from others. More than 30
percent admitted they had hurt someone badly enough for the victim to
require medical attention.

Seniors who admitted using only marijuana reported fewer incidents in which
they were victimized or committed a crime themselves, but their numbers
showed a marked difference from those who said they didn't use illegal drugs.

According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, emergency room visits related
to marijuana have increased at an alarming rate. The numbers show a 15
percent increase between 2000 and 2001 for patients ages 12 to 34.

Health risks aside, drugs are responsible each year for several hundred
South Mississippi youths landing in Youth Court. In Harrison County, more
than 200 youngsters a year make juvenile court appearances on drug charges,
while the average in Jackson County is about 90.

Youth Court administrators, however, say the number of kids with drug
problems is likely higher because other types of charges may have resulted
in their arrests. For example, nearly half of some 1,300 kids turned over
to Jackson County Youth Court the first six months of this fiscal year were
charged with assaults, auto thefts and burglaries.

Some authorities, including Tom Payne, a Gulfport City Court judge and a
criminal justice professor, are quick to point out that most kids are good
kids.

"Less than 2 percent of 40,000 youths included in a study on youth violence
were actually identified as being violent," said Payne.

However, Payne and other authorities are concerned about that 2 percent.

A kid who leaves high school for a life of crime and drug abuse not only
wastes his or her life, officials say, but also costs society at least $1.3
million in related expenses. That figure, estimated in 1998 through a
Justice Department study, takes into consideration the fact that the
average career criminal commits at least 68 crimes in a 10-year period.

Dealing with violence

Law enforcement officials say they like to publicize high-profile drug
arrests because they serve as warnings of the violence that dealers and
addicts are capable of committing.

For example, South Mississippi officers this year have arrested several
suspected drug dealers whose stash included assault rifles, handguns and
bulletproof vests.

At least three people have been injured during drug arrests in Harrison
County since July. Two narcotics agents were hurt by a booby trap while
looking for a man wanted on a charge of conspiracy to distribute ecstasy.
Weeks later, a Harrison County man was injured in an exchange of gunfire
after deputies found a batch of methamphetamine cooking at a mobile home in
Saucier.

Area police are especially concerned about meth, a highly addictive
synthetic narcotic that is easily made, has a high profit margin for
dealers, and can cause violent behavior.

Addiction is driving an unprecedented increase in the number of meth labs
being discovered statewide on a near-daily basis, according to the DEA. The
agency, which is in charge of cleaning up behind meth-lab busts, documented
one lab bust in Mississippi in 1996, but the number of labs found in 2000
jumped to 115 and increased to 201 last year.

In the state's 13 southernmost counties, authorities found 40 labs in 2000,
followed by 95 busts in 2001. The number this year already is more than 120.

Authorities believe that the supply indicates the demand is high.

Dealing with dealers

Authorities emphasize that people whose lives revolve around selling or
using drugs are likely to resort to violence, especially if they're under
the influence of drugs or alcohol when things don't go their way.

However, today's dealers often are people who seem unlikely to be involved
in criminal activity - professionals such as doctors, attorneys and public
officials - said Randy Johnson, a state Bureau of Narcotics spokesman and
legislative liaison.

For instance, at least two Coast schoolteachers have been arrested on drug
charges this year.

"There is no stereotype," said Johnson. "It can be anybody that has access
to drugs and wants to make a fast buck."

Narcotics agents classify dealers in categories of drug traffickers,
midlevel dealers and street-level dealers. The street-level dealers are
more apt to be hooked on a drug and to sell it to support their habit, said
Johnson.

Street-level dealers typically are the ones who offer young drug users free
supplies and get-rich-quick schemes in exchange for enticing their friends
to try drugs. The kids who get hooked, said Johnson, often start selling or
stealing for their next fix.

"The nature of the beast," Johnson said, "is that you can't predict
violence. If you put a foreign substance in your body, it may have a
different reaction than what someone else has to the same thing. But people
who are hyped-up on drugs can definitely become violent. They don't go
calmly when they're arrested."

The more dangerous the drug, the more violence is likely to be involved.

"The people we bust, especially with meth, are scared to death of each
other," said Ed Dickey of DEA. "We almost always find a gun, or the bad
guys tell us that 'so-and-so' will kill them once word of their involvement
gets out. Our intelligence tells us that their organizers run these groups
through threats and intimidation."

[sidebar]

Youth Drugs And Crime

A study by the National Center for Juvenile Justice shows crime and
violence trends among youths who use drugs.

For high school seniors who used drugs other than marijuana during a
12-month period:

More than 50 percent were robbed.

More than 30 percent were assaulted.

About 30 percent were threatened with a weapon.

About 40 percent reported deliberate damages to personal property.

About 50 percent stole something valued less than $50; about 20 percent
stole something valued more than $50.

More than 30 percent hurt someone badly enough that they required medical
attention.

About 5 percent used a weapon to take something from someone else.