CITY, COUNTY FORCES COOPERATE IN BATTLE AGAINST ILLEGAL DRUGS

Cape Girardeau city and county law enforcement personnel have combined efforts, forging a new weapon in the battle against illegal drugs in the area.

Officers from the Cape Girardeau Police Department and the Cape County Sheriff's Department have recently created the Narcotics Enforcement Unit within the county.

Last weekend, the unit acting on tips from law enforcement personnel and members of the community arrested two people and seized 21 rocks of crack cocaine, a semi-automatic pistol and more than $1,600 in cash.

"The county and the city saw a need to continue with putting pressure on drug traffic," said Capt. Steve Strong of the Cape Girardeau Police Department. "The drug activity in the area did not stop with the (October drug sweep) arrests.

"In our effort to keep up, it became clear that a close working relationship with the county would aid this goal," Strong said.

Officers in the unit work their own hours, checking out "tips" fed to law enforcement departments every day.

"We wanted some officers who could concentrate on information that came into the station and who would be able to act immediately," Strong said.

The officers will also be able to focus their attention on smaller dealers and serve as a liaison between local law enforcement agencies and the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

"We can't rely on the (Southeast Missouri) drug task force to do it all," said Cape County Sheriff Norman Copeland. "We are now focusing our attention on the home front in towns throughout the county."

Strong said that the cooperation between the departments is an asset in questions of jurisdiction and in personnel.

"It's quite obvious that drug activity in Cape Girardeau does not end at the city limits," Strong said. "The NEU increases manpower of both departments, focusing on one illegal activity."

Both departments said that they are inundated with enough information about suspected drug activity, to keep several officers busy full-time in that area alone.

"We have lots of contacts," Copeland said. "People call, they stop deputies on the street, they come in and tell us that `things just aren't right' in a certain area or at a certain house; most of the time the information is accurate and useful."

When information comes in, it is shared between the departments and acted upon more quickly.

"If someone calls and says that there are probably illegal drugs present somewhere, we can fix it," Strong said. "These people are geared to developing sources, working the streets, gathering information and executing search warrants."

At least one of the officers in the new unit is undergoing specialized drug enforcement training, Strong said.

Copeland hopes to expand the unit to other jurisdictions within the county.

"Each entity would supply funding for the unit within its own jurisdiction," Copeland said. "Since the county has jurisdiction everywhere, we would pay for the area outside the cities' jurisdictions."

Copeland said whether or not other agencies join the unit, it will continue to operate throughout the county.

"It's an ongoing operation," Copeland said. "We can't afford not to keep it ongoing. We have to keep the heat on these people who continue to deal drugs within the county."