COMMUNITIES KEY IN FIGHT AGAINST METH

Oklahoma's law enforcement agencies have tried everything they know to slow
the production of methamphetamine. But despite millions of dollars spent on
enforcement in the past year, the number of meth labs continues to grow,
and prisons continue to swell with meth addicts.

Already this year, Oklahoma City police have seized 115 meth labs. At this
time last year, they had seized 78.

Law enforcement agencies increasingly are turning to their communities to
help them identify and capture potential meth cooks before the drugs make
it to the streets, officials said.

Oklahoma City police Maj. Johnny Kuhlman, who heads the department's "Life
or Meth" campaign and supervises meth lab cleanups, said the public is
getting better at recognizing the signs of meth production.

"I think most of the community realizes that this thing hurts everyone,"
Kuhlman said. "The community as a whole is becoming more aware."

Oklahoma City police and the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department both
conduct community awareness programs. Retailers, hotel and motel managers,
and local residents can all play a part in stopping meth cooks, Kuhlman said.

Many of the ingredients meth cooks need, such as pseudoephedrine and
lithium batteries, can be bought at any retail store and may look harmless
to the untrained eye.

Drug companies are trying to find ways to alter the pseudoephedrine
commonly sold over the counter so that it can't be used to produce meth,
said John Duncan, chief agent with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

That advance could be a long way off, and until then it is up to store
managers to find ways to keep the drug out of the wrong hands.

Dean Peery, manager of Albertson's Food and Drug, 7101 NW 23 in Bethany,
said Albertson's limits the sale of common meth ingredients, known as
precursors.

"Most of the items are limited to quantities of 10, and they are actually
thinking about lowering it past that because it's still a problem," Peery
said. "Who needs 10 boxes of pseudoephedrine?"

Of course, if meth cooks are willing to break drug laws, they certainly
don't mind stealing from a retail store.

Peery said his employees call police when they suspect someone of trying to
buy or shoplift items for the purpose of making meth.

Police can then put the suspected meth cooks under surveillance until they
have enough evidence to get a search warrant.

Police also encourage hotel and motel managers to watch for signs of drug
labs, which often are set up in hotel rooms.

"We've had pretty good luck with the business community," Kuhlman said.
"That's probably another reason why we are seeing an increasing number of
meth labs processed. There's a possibility that the reason we are seeing
more labs is because people know what to look for."

In rural areas, county sheriffs rely on tips to find isolated labs that
might otherwise go undiscovered.

"Without the community telling us where we need to go, we don't know where
to go," said Bert Miller, a Coal County sheriff's deputy.

Miller said deputies have discovered two labs and the remnants of another
in the last month.

Keith Cain, a Daviess County, Ky., sheriff, gave an all-day meth seminar
June 24 at the National Sheriffs' Convention in Tulsa. The seminar taught
sheriffs' deputies what evidence to look for and how to stay safe when
searching for meth labs.

Meth production exploded in Daviess County in 1998, and Cain's department
had to come up with new methods to fight it.

"We recognized that this is not a law enforcement problem, it is a
community problem," Cain said. "If it was to be successful, it had to be a
cooperative effort among the community."

Cain worked with his local newspaper, gave public talks about the drug and
even took out billboards in his area to increase public awareness of the
problem.

Cain's department also received two federal grants totaling $600,000. A
good portion of that money went toward preventative law enforcement.

Deputies stake out businesses that sell anhydrous ammonia, a chemical used
in a popular meth-making process. Many of those businesses are burglarized
several times each week, Cain said.

"The funding has to continue," Cain said. "Without that money, we would not
have been able to be as proactive as we were."

Jim Acquisto, a narcotics detective sergeant with the Daviess County
Sheriff's Department, cleans up several labs each week. He said cleaning up
meth labs can be a frustrating job.

"You feel a lot better when you actually catch people in the process, and
the dope doesn't get on the street because you stopped them in the middle
of it," Acquisto said. "The key to that in my opinion is you've got to
dedicate the manpower to it, which means money."

Kuhlman said Oklahoma City police believe they have enough funds to keep up
a good fight against meth, but those funds will go further if the rest of
the community does its part.