Wednesday, 17 October 2007 02:03
New Task Force Combats Drug Crimes
Drug use and drug-related
crime is at an all time high in Amador County and the county has one of the
worse drug-related crime rates in the state, especially for methamphetamines,
says Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe. To combat drug related crimes,
the largest joint agency task force this county has seen will officially start
November 1st. The ACCNET (Amador County Combined Narcotics
Enforcement Team) had its first working meeting Monday, October 15 at Mel’s
Diner in Jackson.
Agencies involved in this task force include all local police departments, the
Sheriff’s department, State Department of Justice, California Highway Patrol,
the Attorney General’s office, Child Protective Services and Mule Creek State
Prison.
According to Jackie Long of
the State Justice Department and appointed commander of the task force, he will
be providing education to the local law enforcement agencies and be responsible
for the day to day activities. He also stated that Office of Emergency Services
grants for this program will provide state of the art equipment used for
surveillance and apprehension. Sheriff Martin Ryan, chairman of the task force,
will shortly be releasing a full list of the agencies participating on the task
force along with more information about how the new task force will proceed.
Drug sales and use is only part of the problem. Riebe elaborated on the reason
for a multi-agency approach, saying there almost always are other crimes
involved, generally thefts, due to the high cost of these drugs. Riebe also
said that although the focus of the task force is on stopping the drug trade,
there is also an outreach component. Both Reibe and Matt Zanze of Amador’s
Child Protective Services believe education in the community and especially in
our schools will help prevent people from engaging in drug related activities.
Zanze is hopeful that the mere existence of the program will be a deterrent.
His agency’s role on the task force will include a risk assessment protocol for
determining the best treatment for the endangered children. Access to the drugs
is not the only problem for these children -- They also face injury by needles
and associated diseases such as hepatitis and HIV.