Fighting Back: The Meth Epidemic ( Part 2 of 4 )

BEHIND-THE-SCENES EFFORTS SEEK TO ERADICATE METH PROBLEM

For years, Daviess County Sheriff Keith Cain has repeatedly referred to the spread of methamphetamine as a community problem rather than simply a law enforcement problem.

As a testament to his characterization, many people in the community have joined the battle against a tide of crime that has swept Daviess County since 1998, with the discovery of the county's first meth lab.

From the time a person begins gathering ingredients to make the drug to the time they ingest the finished product, footsteps of crime and potential danger trail throughout groceries, convenience stores, retail outlets, farms, neighborhoods and private property.

Together, they comprise what Cain calls the "inherent dangers associated with problems outside the immediate realm of the user or abuser of the drug."

Members of the community have joined the battle by helping provide information to police and doing small parts intended to make a big difference.  Farmers, businessman, pharmacists and loss prevention officers often conduct a behind-the-scenes effort.  Meanwhile, police investigators continue to follow up on tips while using strategies often unknown to area residents.

"There's just been a tremendous amount of effort, not just from law enforcement, but from many different agencies throughout the community," sheriff's Lt.  Jeff Jones said.

Problems

Meth has been present in western Kentucky for decades, but the small amount that police found was imported from the western United States.  The volume of it has mushroomed since the late 1990s, when people learned how to make it on their own using legal ingredients available at groceries and a farm fertilizer commonly found in western Kentucky.

There are 150 ways to make meth, and two methods have been found by area police.  The most common method is referred to as the "nazi" method because it mirrors the way that some World War II-era soldiers made the drug.  The method requires the farm fertilizer anhydrous ammonia.

Owensboro police receive a glut of tips about suspicious drug activity, said Sgt.  Brock Peterson, who supervises the city's street crimes unit.  The volume of tips compared to available manpower mean police must be selective with their investigations, he said.

In recent years, meth has grown to become one of three drugs always present in the community, along with marijuana and cocaine, Peterson said.

The vice unit receives anonymous reports on the tip line, calls from other officers, businesses and reports from the city's many neighborhood alliances about suspected meth operations, Peterson said.  Many of the tips require up to two hours of investigation or surveillance before police can begin to develop a reason to pursue a criminal case, he said.

With the growth of the drug, a unique meth subculture has emerged involving people who steal pills and anhydrous for trade or sale, people who make meth and people who suffer with raging addiction to the drug, Peterson said.  Crack cocaine involves a hierarchy of traffickers, sellers and users, but the relative ease of making meth brings an entirely new set of challenges devoid of any similar hierarchy, he said.

The items necessary for making methamphetamine can all be found within Daviess County but often require multiple trips to different locations to gather the ingredients.  Items such as starter fluid, Camp Fuel, filters, jars, containers, hundreds of decongestant pills and anhydrous ammonia are all required for the type of recipe most commonly used by local residents.

Strategies

Often, loss prevention officers at Target will phone employees at Wal-Mart to warn them about suspicious customers who seem to be stockpiling decongestant pills, according to Owensboro police.  Likewise, Kroger security officers will note license plates and pass them on to police.

On a smaller scale, many convenience stores have moved their decongestant pills off the shelves and behind the counters, strictly monitoring the amount sold.

Cain and other members of the department have been working with legislators and testifying in Frankfort since 1998 to promote new laws designed to help police deal with the meth epidemic.  Two of the most recently proposed bills, one that would have provided heightened penalties when children are found near meth labs and one that would have regulated security among anhydrous ammonia dealers, failed to pass in the 2004 legislative session.  Cain said he will continue to promote those bills and others.

In recent years, law enforcement has often hoped to educate the community and solicit help.  The result has included town hall meetings, partnerships with area retailers, working with substance abuse professionals and legislators.

For at least the past three years the sheriff's department has conducted overnight surveillance at anhydrous ammonia locations, resulting in more than 70 arrests.  The sheriff's department has kept communication lines open between farmers and anhydrous suppliers about the problems of thefts.

The result seems to be fewer thefts and tighter security controls, said Greg Simpson, manager of Southern States Cooperative on Carter Road.

Often fighting the spread of meth and meth-related crime involves a behind-the-scenes effort, Jones said.  Through networking, communication and special operations the department has sought to get its arms around a huge problem, he said.