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Newsbrief:
Richmond,
Virginia
Drug
Sweep
Underway
10/25/02
Following the lead of cities
such as Philadelphia, police in Richmond, VA, have embarked on a massive
enforcement effort to shut down inner city drug markets. Police Chief
Andre Parker, who assumed the position in August, told an October 16 news
conference he was sending "wave after wave" of police officers into poor
neighborhoods in an initiative he called "Blue Wave."
Parker said he decided to
begin the operation after hearing from community groups tired of being
at ground zero in the war on drugs. "What I've heard is their concerns
over drug dealing and other criminal activity making their streets dangerous,"
he said. "We are going to interdict that."
Philadelphia embarked on
"Operation Safe Streets" in May (http://www.drcnet.org/wol/236.html#philadelphia),
flooding areas of heavy street dealing with uniformed police, and city
officials there are claiming impressive results. Robberies and assaults
between May and August fell 20% compared to the previous year, and drug-related
homicides declined by more than half, though the number of murders in the
city stayed roughly unchanged.
But similar operations in
other cities had merely pushed the traffic to other areas, Edward Tully,
executive director of Major Cities Chiefs, which represents the heads of
the 60 largest police departments in the United States and Canada, told
the Philadelphia Inquirer last month. "Open-air drug dealing is a
problem in every community in the United States. Philadelphia is
not alone," Tully said. "As long as the demand exists, it will be
serviced."
-- END --
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Issue #260, 10/25/02
Antiprohibitionists Meet at European Parliament in Brussels | Vigilante Drug Bust in Arizona Opens Window into World of Hurt on Mexican Border | Election 2002:00:00 Governor's Races of Interest | Smoke Dope to Fight Chemical Warfare Attacks? Israeli Activists Say Check It Out | This Week's Cop Corruption Story: Two Texas Villarreals | Newsbrief: Federal Court Upholds Drug Tests for Welfare Recipients | Newsbrief: Bill to Ban Salvia Divinorum Introduced | Newsbrief: In Ecuador, Plan Colombia Foe Appears Headed for Presidency | Newsbrief: Feds to Prosecute Ayahuasca Case | Newsbrief: Baltimore Killings Bring More of the Same Old Policies | Newsbrief: Richmond, Virginia Drug Sweep Underway | Newsbrief: Massachusetts Reform Advocates Release Decrim Study as Elections Near | Newsbrief: Oklahoma Uses Civil Suits in War on Meth | Newsbrief: U Missouri SSDP, NORML in Marijuana Petition Drive | Newsbrief: Ontario Court Authorizes Crackdown on Marijuana Growers | Quote of the Week: William Raspberry | Web Scan: DRCNet in the Media, Dan Forbes on Alternet, VoteHemp, Change the Climate, Journey for Justice, Sydney Morning Herald | Job Opportunity: PreventionWorks, Washington, DC | Errata: Polling on San Francisco Proposition S | Calling on Students to Raise Your Voices for Repeal of the HEA Drug Provision | Action Alerts: Rave Bill, Medical Marijuana, Higher Education Act Drug Provision | The Reformer's Calendar
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