BOND SOLICITS VIEWS ON CRIME FROM LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond told law enforcement officials from Southeast Missouri Tuesday that he intends to fight for more prisons to house dangerous criminals.

"I came today to talk about what's going on in Washington, but more importantly, that you all need to continue to wage this war on crime," said Bond. "We have made some progress over the past few years, but if we are to continue, we need more prisons to house violent offenders during the peak years of their criminal activity."

The senator met with local, state and federal law enforcement officials of Southeast Missouri in the courtroom of the Federal Building to discuss their crime-fighting efforts.

"Breaking down the sophisticated drug trafficking networks that operate in Southeast Missouri requires a coordinated law enforcement effort and tough prosecution," said Bond. "The best way I can help is to listen to those who fight crime every day and to take their ideas back to Washington.

"Congress needs to give law enforcement officials the support they need to get their job done right," he said.

Marble Hill Police Chief Gary W. Shrum told the senator that before "truth in sentencing" can become a reality, more prison space has to be made available.

"It's very hard for me as a law enforcement officer to try to explain to people in my community why these people we have arrested are back on the street," said Shrum. "We need money for city and county jails, not to mention state and federal prisons.

"Without the prison space to house the people we arrest and make cases on, you cannot have truth in sentencing," he said. "Criminals are being paroled by the prison system for lack of space."

During the meeting, Bond discussed some of the anti-crime legislation pending in Congress. If approved, the bills will build 10 new regional prisons, fund boot camps for young offenders, put 100,000 more police officers on the streets, increase the penalties for dealing drugs near schools and set stiffer, minimum sentences for crimes with guns.

But Bond criticized a legislative effort to reduce funding for drug interdiction.

"It is absolutely ridiculous to cut back on drug interdiction in law enforcement and then try to make up for it with drug treatment programs," said Bond. "I happen to think that building more prisons is a better policy than cutting money allocated for federal law enforcement agencies."

Several law enforcement representatives agreed with Bond's stance against money being taken away from law enforcement to supplement drug rehabilitation.

"I believe rehabilitation is a naturally occurring process that no amount of money supplied by the federal government can speed up," said Cape Girardeau Police Chief Howard Boyd Jr. "When drug addicts reach a point in their lives when they decide they don't want to do drugs anymore and want to get clean, then rehabilitation will work. Until that time comes, the chance of a person being rehabilitated is next to none."

Lt. Jim McNiell of the Missouri Highway Patrol told Bond that his agency believes law enforcement is winning the war on the drugs, but a cutback in federal spending would seriously hamper their efforts.

"We utilize the services and equipment of the Missouri National Guard to help us locate marijuana growing operations," said McNiell. "If military spending is cut back, we could be put back to a point we were at 10 years ago in our war on drugs. Without federal funding, we'll be taking a step backward, and they will start winning."

McNiell called the highway patrol's interdiction program as good as any in the country, but without continuing support of federal and state agencies its success could be in jeopardy.

"There are still drugs out there -- we'll never be rid of all of them," he said. "But with riverboat gambling in the state, our manpower is already being cut back on the roads, where we need it most."

All city and county agency representatives agreed that a reduction in federal spending on federal law enforcement agencies would greatly hamper their ability to get the job done.

The Charleston police chief said that without assistance from federal agents, it is hard for third- and fourth-class counties to make cases on major criminals.

A representative of the Southeast Missouri Regional Drug Task Force said that without federal aid, his agency would not have the track record it boasts.

"When we started out, we were taking lower level dealers off the streets," the task force member said. "But with the help of agencies like the DEA and the ATF, our investigations have evolved over the past few years, which resulted in us taking a few major dealers out of circulation."

Bond asked that the law enforcement agencies represented at Tuesday's meeting write letters to his office that he could take to the Senate floor.

"The war on drugs will not be won overnight, but -- as I have heard here today -- we are making progress," said Bond. "This is no time to back off of that effort."