THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 6, 1995 TAG: 9501040151
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSAN W. SMITH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
The number of arrests on narcotics charges in Chesapeake during 1994 was down from the year before, but Capt. J.E. Saunders of the Police Department's Special Investigations Department said that is not an indication the city's drug problem is on the decline.
There were 981 arrests through November for the buying or selling of illegal substances during 1994, down from 1,065 arrests in 1993.
According to Saunders, there also has been a resurgence in marijuana use in the city, resulting in several sizable seizures during the past year.
Crack is still the No. 1 illegal substance in Chesapeake, followed by marijuana, heroin and prescription drugs.
``We are definitely having an impact on the citywide problem, and we're becoming pro-active by trying to anticipate what's going to be happening next,'' said Saunders. ``We closely watch northern and larger city trends because they have a tendency to move our way. Last year, we heavily concentrated on the open-air drug market and put a lot of emphasis on hindering street dealing.''
The open-air market refers to the sale of drugs from parking lots and street corners, often during daylight hours.
This year, Saunders said, police plan to pursue suppliers to the street dealers and to continue with intense training programs and investigations.
With the help of a state grant in October, the department has added three detectives, whose primary responsibility is to go after repeat offenders.
The department seizes automobiles, money and property that have been involved in drug crimes.
``We not only hurt them with loss of liberty, but we hit them in the pocketbook, which can be a strong deterrent,'' said Saunders. ``And for 1995, I'm very optimistic that we're going to make it even more difficult for drug dealers to operate within the boundaries of Chesapeake.''
KEYWORDS: DRUG ARRESTS by CNB