DRUG TASK FORCE UPDATE:

Drug Fight Far From Over In Community

ASHEBORO - In February 2001, a challenge was presented to citizens of
Randolph County to become more aware of the drug problems which plague the
area.

Asheboro Police Chief Gary Mason and members of the Asheboro Drug Task
Force met with more than 1,200 people at a Drug Summit held at the Asheboro
High School auditorium. The summit was held as a way to inform concerned
citizens on ways they could become the eyes and ears of law enforcement and
help stem the flow of drugs into local communities.

A year later, in February 2002, the 15 members of Asheboro Drug Task Force
each invited 10 other citizens to join them for a follow-up report on the
summit.

More than 100 invitees met with Mason, representatives from the Randolph
County Sheriff's Office, District Attorney's Office and local ministerial
offices for breakfast and fellowship Thursday at the AVS Banquet Centre.
The meeting was held to hear Mason explain the challenges the community
faces in the local war against drugs and drug dealers.

The task force met monthly last year to develop an outline of ways citizens
could be those "eyes and ears." There were successes - several areas of
Asheboro met with police to learn how to observe and report suspicous
behavior. Cooperation among law enforcement agencies is the best it has
ever been. Drugs have been seized in larger and larger amounts as people
called police or Crime Stoppers with information which led to arrests.

Still, Mason said Thursday that there was more to do and more ways in which
more residents could become involved.

Mason explained that the Asheboro Drug Task Force was to be a catalyst for
communication and cooperation among existing community-based groups
concerned with drugs and crimes in their communities.

The task force presented several ideas to aid law enforcement in their work
to keep the streets free of drug dealers, including:

a.. Ride-alongs for people interested in how law enforcement patrols city
streets. b.. Drug treatment centers for addicts who want to get off drugs.
c.. Hotline numbers to make law enforcement officers aware of crime. d..
Meeting with neighborhood watch committees to educate citizens on gathering
information on suspicious behavior. "Last year," Mason said, "we put on 10
neighborhood programs to make people aware of the drug problem and
encourage people to work with law enforcement. People have not been as
trusting of us as we had hoped, but we have still been able to work several
(drug) arrests based on citizen reports."

Mason noted that within the last year several local law enforcement
agencies had their largest drug busts to date. Many of the arrests and
seizures came from tips from citizens.

Those successes, Mason said, may also have a dangerous side effect.

"Just last week, in Asheboro, a kilo of cocaine and $32,000 and a vehicle
was seized," Mason said. "And the sheriff's department has been seizing
large amounts of drugs, too.

"It won't be long until the people we're taking money from try to back us off."

Mason asked Thursday that everyone interested in stopping the flow of drugs
into Asheboro and Randolph County should find a way to get involved.

"We can't just throw our hands up and quit," Mason said.

Since last year's Drug Summit, Mason said all local law enforcement
agencies are working closely with one another to share information on areas
of the county where drugs are a recurring problem. Officers of the local
police departments and the sheriff's office are working closely with the
district attorney's office to learn how to utilize nuisance and abatement
laws to shut down chronic drug activities within the community.

Money seized from drug raids are being spent on equipment to monitor
potentially criminal activity and is being spent on protection equipment
for officers.

Mason said he hopes in the near future the Drug Task Force will have in
place a "Citizen's Academy," which would consist of a series of classes
people could take to better understand the laws under which law enforcement
must operate and make citizens more aware of how the legal system operates.
He said he believed that once people are aware of the laws, they would feel
less frustration at reporting a suspect only to see the suspect back out on
the street within hours of an arrest.

District Court Judge William Neely told the gathering that he and the
director of the Randolph County Day Reporting Center, Pam Hill, are trying
to put together a Drug Treatment Court for the county.

"We will start with the assumption that external stimulus makes people want
treatment," Neely said of the program.

The Drug Court will be a tool to actively monitor people in the community
who have drug problems and have used the court system as a revolving door
into the enforced sobriety of prison and then back out to their old lives
of drug abuse.

Neely said the people who come before the Drug Court would be people who
are facing prison time for drug charges. Once in Drug Court, they would be
tested for drugs three days each week while they attend meetings to
encourage breaking the drug habit. A failure of one test could mean being
sent to jail for the term the court imposed.

"We're not acting quickly enough to stop drug abuse when someone is on
parole. At best, we teach the offender how to be sober for the 1 1/2 years
they spend in prison. Then they come back to their same friends and start
the same old activities," Neely said.

Drug Court will be a tool to be used to closely monitor the offender for a
year while they are still in the community, Neely said. "It is here (at
home) that they can learn skills they can use for the rest of their lives
to remain drug free."

Neely said he and Hill were hoping to find grant money and matching funds
to get the program started.

Myra Gaddy, the Victim's Assistance Coordinator for the Randolph County
Sheriff's Office, encouraged people to contact her if they need help in
reporting abusive situations. Gaddy said that most of the sexual abuse and
domestic violence abuse in the community occurs because someone involved is
a substance abuser.

Gaddy said her services as a victim's assistance coordinator also involves
educating the community on what constitutes abuse.

"We are all affected by crime," Gaddy said. "We all have to work together
to share our knowledge and resources."

There are many ways in which citizens can get involved in helping law
enforcement locate drug activities and slow the tide of drugs, according to
Mason, and at Thursday's conference he listed several.

Mason said everyone could learn how to be aware of what constitutes
suspicious activity in their neighborhoods. People interested in what
police look for can sign up for the Ride-Along Program which began last
year and still continues.

Concerned citizens can monitor drug cases as they go through the court
system as a volunteer in a "Court Watch Program" the task force wants to start.

Parents can support student-related programs, such as the Drug Abuse
Reduction Effort (DARE) presented in local schools.

Adults can become active in youth organizations and youth recreation
activities.

Adults can find a student to mentor and help with school work.

Since Sept. 11, Mason said he and Randolph County Sheriff Litchard Hurley
have seen a small decrease in the amount of cocaine sold on the streets.
Unfortunately, Mason said, the amount of laboratory-made drugs like
amphetamines and ecstacy are taking the place of the unavailable cocaine.

The sale of marijuana, Mason said, is also on the increase.

Mason said he saw it as part of his job to keep the public informed on drug
problems. He would also like the public to become involved and stay
involved in the struggle to make our community a safer place to live.

"I want to make the public aware of the drug problem in our communities,"
Mason said.

"This needs to be a community effort. Law enforcement cannot do it all. The
police and sheriff can work together, but we cannot do it without the help
of the community.

"The drug problem is not in just in one area of town, it's in Asheboro.
What's on Brewer Street today will be on your street tomorrow. There are no
barriers. We need to support one another whether we are white, black or
Hispanic."