TREATMENT SERVICES HELP WAR ON DRUGS

The City Council has listened to citizen groups and their view of the crime
problem. Three initiatives have been established - community
revitalization, a strategic community policing policy and curbing the
city's drug problem.

Chief Simonowich has said that "70 percent of the crime in Greenville is
drug related." National experience with the War on Drugs has demonstrated
that an approach which relies primarily on police action, interdiction and
jailing does not solve the problem.

To make a difference, the provision of accessible and readily available
treatment services is essential and effective, especially when combined
with a strong prevention program. I hope that the City Council will look
for ways to bring such clinical services into the communities most affected
by the drug problem.

DAVID AMES, MD

Greenville