FEDS HELP PORTSMOUTH IN DRUG FIGHT

PORTSMOUTH, Va. -- The director of the nation's drug-fighting agency will
be in Portsmouth Monday to help the city formulate a plan to combat drug
crime that has nearly doubled in two years.

Portsmouth is one of three cities nationwide chosen for the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration's Integrated Drug Enforcement Assistance
program, or IDEA, a pilot project that combines law enforcement with a
communitywide drug-prevention and treatment plan.

City and community leaders will begin drafting that plan Monday at a
two-day drug summit sponsored by the DEA and the National Crime Prevention
Council. DEA director Asa Hutchinson will speak.

"This is probably one of the first times in the city of Portsmouth that we
have someone in law enforcement. . . at the federal level going out and
meeting the community," said Circuit Judge Johnny Morrison, who presides
over the city's drug court. "This is novel and I think this is well-needed."

For residents whose fears have increased with the drug activity on their
streets, the help couldn't come soon enough.

Sandra Johnston, 54, worries that drug usage in her Weshaven neighborhood
could escalate into violent crime. But she said she is too afraid of
retaliation to confront anyone.

If it's dark out, 69-year-old Cephas Wright won't walk from his car to his
Prentis Park house without a gun. "We're prisoners," he said. "We have to
protect ourselves."

Reported crimes related to drug possession and sales in the city jumped
from at least 600 to 1,100 or more between 1999 and 2001, according to an
analysis of Portsmouth Police Department statistics by The Virginian-Pilot
newspaper.

Reported incidents of marijuana and heroin possession and sales increased
by more than 75 percent from 1999 to 2001. Cocaine possession and sales
increased by about 45 percent. This growth came at a time when the number
of arrests nationally for drug possession, sales and manufacture saw a
modest decline.

Some say the increase in reported drug activity reflects more aggressive
law enforcement. Others, however, say there is more drug activity because
of the Police Department's officer shortage.

"They're doing the best they can with the manpower they have," said
Johnston, who coordinates the Westhaven Neighborhood Watch. "But right now,
it's not enough."

In January, the DEA chose Portsmouth; North Charleston, S.C.; and
Allentown, Pa., out of about 50 applicants for the pilot program. Each has
a population of between 80,000 and 100,000; had from 5.8 to 16.2 violent
crimes per 1,000 people in 2001; and has experienced problems with drug crime.

In Portsmouth, about 280 civic, law enforcement, government and business
leaders have been invited to the summit.

They will discuss ways to reduce the demand for drugs. Their suggestions
will be compiled into a comprehensive plan in the fall.

Michael Kennedy, one of about 15 agents in the DEA's Norfolk office, will
help implement the IDEA plan over a year's time.

IDEA provides no money to Portsmouth, but program coordinators will help
the city identify funding sources, if needed.

In North Charleston, an April summit's recommendations included setting up
anonymous crime-reporting hot lines, holding presentations at churches
about crime trends, and finding money to revitalize neighborhoods.

Many of the recommendations involved community-building, said Shannon
Praete, grants administrator for North Charleston. "Zero involved law
enforcement."

Some Portsmouth residents like the idea of jump-starting grass-roots
community efforts against crime. "It's putting more energy and resolve to
an idea that worked in the past," said Elijah Sharp, president of the
United Civic League of Cavalier Manor.

"People are coming to the realization that they cannot depend on law
enforcement and the courts to do it all," Morrison said. "They also have to
be an active participant."