LUMBERTON POLICE USING LIGHTS TO SPOTLIGHT DRUG ACTIVITY

LUMBERTON -- The Lumberton Police Department is using a new tool to fight
drugs -- lights.

The department is installing 1,000-watt spotlights to illuminate streets
known for drug activity. Residents and city officials say they are pleased
with the program, which is called "Light Tonight." The department began
installing the lights this summer.

Police Cpl. Michael Smith said brighter streets discourage drug dealing
that is often marked with fistfights, loud music and gun battles.

Smith has been with the Lumberton Police Department nine years. During that
time, he has responded to a number of calls in east Lumberton neighborhoods
where drugs have been a problem. He said the "Light Tonight" program has
reduced drug trafficking and complaints in problem areas.

"People don't want to deal drugs in daylight," Smith said. "We don't have
nearly as much trouble as we had with people standing on the corner when it
was dark. We were down here constantly. We'd run them off and they would be
right back down here."

The lights have been placed in several neighborhoods in east and south
Lumberton where there have been problems with drugs. About a dozen lights
line several blocks of Willow Street in east Lumberton. There are also
lights on First and Cherokee streets, and on Bryant Street in south Lumberton.

City Manager Todd Powell proposed the idea. Powell and Police Chief Robert
Grice told councilmen about the program at their Dec.1 retreat in Charlotte.

Powell said the program has been more effective than he anticipated. He
said it is a "cost effective" way to fight crime because it costs less to
provide power for the lights than to have an undercover officer in the area.

"It kills the customer traffic," Powell said. "It turns the neighborhood
back over to the residents. It used to be that you would see the punks out
at night. Now you see families out walking. The cost of the electric
department to give the neighborhood back to the people is nominal."

Drug dealers leaving

Grice said drug dealers left some neighborhoods after the program was
implemented. e said the department received complaints weekly from
neighbors who were weary of the problems.

"It's been remarkable," Grice said. "The problems we had in these areas
ceased to exist. The dealers just left. This type of activity occurs in
shadows and areas where they are not easily seen. I think they have really
helped us."

G.H. Smith likes the idea. Smith owns rental property on Willow Street. He
remembers when fights between drug dealers and other disturbances made life
difficult for residents there.

He said he is amazed at the power of the lights.

"It's been very effective," Smith said. "Nobody is hanging on the corner
anymore. There is no more drug dealing on the corner. Nothing the police
did in the past was as effective."

Smith said he saw a similar program operate successfully in his old
Washington, D.C., neighborhood. He said road crews there set up
construction spotlights at night that eventually chased off drug dealers.

"Once you light it up, the customers won't come," Smith said. "Nobody's
going to sit under a light and sell drugs. It's amazing what power lights
will do. It really took pressure off the police to stop drugs. In order to
sell, you have to have customers. This is the trick -- light up the
neighborhood. Nobody's doing business at night."