POLICE OFFER TIPS TO SPOT METH LABS

The smell is nasty. The garbage is full of matchboxes and cold medicine.
And your neighbors are a little jumpy.

Got a problem? Maybe. Those could be signs that a methamphetamine lab is in
your neighborhood.

The heyday of meth labs in the Kansas City area was around 1997-1998, when
Independence ignominiously was nicknamed the "Meth Capital" of the United
States.

In response, the Independence police took a multipronged approach to reduce
the number of meth labs. They set up a 24-hour drug hotline, organized
neighborhood watches and conducted seminars to educate residents on
spotting signs of meth production.

The Kansas City police last week were host to a similar meth-awareness
seminar for landlords and their staff as part of a larger crime-prevention
program.

"An apartment is a community," Kansas City Officer Jason Asper said. "If
you get people who take pride in it, and if we can teach them to be more
crime-prevention savvy, we can reduce the calls for service for police."

Police estimate that communities that take steps to deter crime make 50
percent fewer service calls to police.

The key ingredient to meth production is pseudoephedrine, which is found in
many cold medicines. Pseudoephedrine is then combined with household items.
The tip-off that a meth lab might be nearby is "unusual quantities of
stuff," police said. The supply list could include matchboxes, fertilizer,
camera batteries, camping stove fuel and yellowed coffee filters.

Signs that someone could be a meth addict include large open sores, rotting
teeth, huge weight loss and pale skin. Long-term users usually become
paranoid. They erect surveillance cameras, reinforce doors and buy guard
dogs, such as pit bulls.

"These people always think you're out to get them, and they just look
nasty," Kansas City criminalist Seth Cooper said. "It's not the way to go."

Independence police spokesman Bill Pross said meth addicts tend to set up
labs in rental property and motels, "so you didn't have to live in the
environment you just poisoned."

Police said the fumes from meth production are strong, toxic and possibly
fatal.

Since 1997, Independence has experienced a 73-percent decrease in meth labs
- -- 109 labs were busted in 1997, 30 labs in 2001.

Police said that meth addicts tend to be white males between 18 and 35
years old.

Even though meth was once known as the "poor man's cocaine," officials said
it crosses all economic strata.

"The higher-end (landlords) have a belief that `Since I charge so much
rent, I won't attract any bad people,' " Kansas City Officer Chris Sicoli
said. "They use their rent as a screening tool, and it's not."

For other tenants' health, the Jackson County prosecutors urge
rental-property owners to be proactive in spotting meth labs.

Officials said that every pound of produced meth leaves behind five to six
pounds of toxic waste. Another hazard includes possible explosions caused
by meth production.

However, if property owners are aware that their tenants have set up meth
labs and do nothing about it, they could be charged with operating a
property nuisance, which is a Class C felony, said Kathy Finnell, chief
trial assistant for the Jackson County Prosecutor's office.

The details

General warning signs of drug activity:

. Expensive vehicles -- regular visits by people in extremely expensive
cars to renters who appear to be impoverished.

. A dramatic drop in activity after police are called.

. Unusually strong fortification of a residence -- blacked-out windows,
window bars, extra deadbolts, elaborate alarm systems.

. Firearms -- particularly assault weapons and those that have been
modified for concealment, such as sawed-off shotguns.