NEW BOSS OF MERGED DRUG UNIT TO ASSESS NEEDS

One of the first things police Deputy Chief R. G. Wright plans to do when
he takes charge of the newly merged metro narcotics unit is meet with
county and city officers in the unit and assess what needs to be improved.

"We'll set some goals and talk about what has been done and the room for
improvement," said Wright, who was announced as head of the new narcotics
unit Thursday.

Wright will be in charge of beefing up the narcotics and Metro Gang units
of the Memphis police and Shelby County Sheriff's departments. The effort
is a response to drug- and gang-related shootings that have killed or
wounded four children since April.

The funeral for the latest victim, Jessica Borner, 3, was Thursday.

"Homicides, drugs and gangs usually go hand in hand," Wright said. "As part
of investigations we see that we can't investigate one without the other
crime cropping up."

That's one reason why police Director Walter Crews said he appointed Wright
to supervise both units.

"He is already overseeing the investigative unit of the Police Department
and these crimes overlap," Crews said.

Next week, Wright is planning to meet with officers in the Shelby County
Narcotics Unit.

Both units will be merged once again into a joint city and county Metro
Narcotics Unit.

In the late 1980s, the unit was one, until politics disbanded the metro
unit and Memphis police and Shelby sheriff's deputies formed separate units.

But Chief Inspector David Wing with the Sheriff's Department, said he sees
bringing the units together again as a "big positive."

"We will have more manpower and it will be a step in the right direction,"
Wing said.

The new unit will not be formed until sometime next month, Wright said.

He is excited about his additional duties. In 1999, Wright was appointed to
the position of deputy chief in charge of investigative services, which
includes commanding the Homicide Bureau, as well as the robbery and sex
crimes bureaus.

Wright, 51, joined the police department in 1972 and has worked mostly in
investigations throughout his career.

"I've never worked in vice and narcotics or the gang unit," he said. "But
like I said, the crimes we see in investiga-tions usually involve gang
members or drug activity. So we will concentrate on the gangs and drugs,
and use every law to enforce stiffer penalties to keep our neighborhoods
and children safe."