WSNIA - The Educator

INFORMATION ♦ EDUCATION ♦ ENFORCEMENT

THE EDUCATOR - Fall 1997

Editorial

by Roger Lake, WSNIA President

When listening to the popular media, you might think that the War on Drugs is over, with nothing left but a "mopping up" operation in small pockets of resistance. This cleanup step only makes headlines on rare occasions when the bloodshed or deception reaches dramatic proportions. In my view, the truth is an entirely different matter.

Our recent Meth Awareness Conference is a case in point. It attracted 300 representatives from over 75 agencies in education, treatment and enforcement, all involved in the anti-drug effort, I think I speak for most of those who attended that law enforcement is not winning the battle, nor is education, nor are treatment tactics. In short, large segments of the public are not hearing or giving credibility to our anti-drug message.

Clearly, we are seeing a rise in the abuse of meth, heroin and marijuana across the board. More drugs are filtering into the U.S. than ever before. Meanwhile, our society is continuing to turn a blind eye to an overwhelming drug abuse problem.

I strongly believe that part of the answer is for our Washington jails to perform voluntary drug testing of inmates, as is currently being done in Portland, Oregon. Since most criminals are under the influence of one or more drugs when they commit their crimes, it behooves us in law enforcement, treatment and education to identify which drugs individuals are under the influence of when they're conducting criminal behavior. This will allow all of us to focus our intervention efforts where they will pay off for the largest return.

Prioritizing and focusing our efforts on the drugs that are most detrimental and dangerous is a necessity, as narcotics enforcement organizations across the country are typically faced with too much work, too many drugs and too little money in our budgets.

The driving force behind the WSNIA organization is the goal of approaching policy makers with a single, unified voice. The anti-drug message our voice is articulating and amplifying is strongly rooted in education, treatment, and enforcement. Make no mistake: we will not be successful over the long term until the media supports our cause with as much fervor as it does the anti-drunk driving campaign. It is imperative that we educate and work with the media in order to highlight the severity of this problem. As narcotic officers, we are already doing the difficult and complex work of rooting out drugs wherever we find them. We might also help by using our knowledge, skills and creativity in our communities to focus media attention on the local problem. We are all uniquely equipped to be ambassadors for the anti-drug message.

Roger Lake, president of the WSNIA since 1990, has a long and notable career in law enforcement. In 1973 he joined the Washington State Patrol and was promoted to sergeant in 1984, working in traffic enforcement. He moved into investigation in '86 and worked on organized crime problems, which is where he developed his interest and concern for the illegal drug trade. Shortly thereafter he went to work for the asset forfeiture group. Two years after being elected to the presidency of WSNIA in 1990, he was assigned the role of taskforce supervisor in Tacoma for the TAHOMA group. He currently lives near Olympia. -- By Det. Sgt. Tom Lind