DRUG WAR FILLS JAILS IN COUNTIES ACROSS SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

BENTON -- Sheriff Bill Ferrell knows all too well how an increase in methamphetamine traffic has affected Scott County.

It has gained his department a notoriety that he didn't seek nor wants to claim. Just last week he was interrupted by a phone call from Reader's Digest during an interview with the Southeast Missourian. Both reporters were seeking details about how the county deals with the meth dilemma.

Last year Missouri was second only to California in the seizure of meth labs. Southeast Missouri has seen a rapid increase in the number of labs operating in the area.

Because sheriffs' departments work closely with the SEMO Drug Task Force, most of the local busts are recorded with the state. Although the number has increased, it doesn't necessarily mean that Scott County has a greater problem than other areas of Southeast Missouri, Ferrell said.

The reports include the busts of both small and large labs.

"It's the same with other counties," he said. Because the latest trend is portable labs, many of the meth lab busts reported are often just residue left on a farm or along a county road.

"We found one in a cornfield," he said. "The farmers found one where the whole process was done in the field and then just left before they moved on," Ferrell said.

With the increased drug activity, other crimes are on the rise. Vandalism reports, burglaries and domestic disputes have increased, he said.

As a result of the increased crime, the county's jail population grows steadily. Many of the prisoners are housed in other counties because the jail is too full.

"It's affected us tremendously," he said. "It's always related to drugs."

Nearly 90 percent of the county's jail population is in jail because of drugs, said Cpl. Jim Bonner, jailer.

Because many county jails see repeat meth offenders, the SEMO Drug Task Force offers a training course on how to spot and bust a methamphetamine lab.

Nearly 130 law enforcement officers from the region attended a training course last week at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau.

The additional training is a benefit for the small departments that can't afford to hold individual courses on the subject. But it also creates another dilemma: The officers are not patrolling the county or investigating labs while they are in class.

Busting labs requires extra hours and more reports, authorities say.

"It's like doing two jobs," said Joe Raymond, chief deputy for the Butler County Sheriff's Department in Poplar Bluff. "It takes a lot more investigating to get all the evidence in line."