Meth-fighting efforts boosted thanks to federal funds

More than $2 million in federal funds is headed to Cape Girardeau County to help fight the Missouri's war on meth.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently approved $2,069,412 be sent to Sheriff John Jordan to administer for the Missouri Sheriffs Methamphetamine Relief Team, a coalition of Missouri sheriffs organized U.S. Sen. Kit Bond and Jordan.

"Unfortunately, Missouri is the methamphetamine capital of the United States," Bond said. "These dollars will help us to continue to fight the infiltration of this terrible drug into our state."

As a volunteer administrator, Jordan oversees the money in subcontracts made to other Missouri sheriffs and rural drug task forces in their fight against meth. The funds are dispersed as a reimbursement on a quarterly basis.

About $1 million will be directed toward the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to help the agency clean up toxic meth lab sites and dispose of the dangerous trash discarded by meth cooks in rural and forest settings.

Local law enforcement can only use MOSMART funds to combat meth with personnel, training, equipment and prevention initiatives. They cannot use the money to supplant existing personnel or programs, Jordan said.

The money helped Missouri law enforcement hire 21 new full-time meth investigators and three full-time drug intelligence analysts in 2001. An additional 13 investigators were added this year. This staffing boost increased arrests and lab seizures across, Jordan said.

"Through MOSMART, task forces and sheriffs are having an impact on meth in 95 of 114 counties in the state, and doing so in a very expeditious amount of time," Jordan said.

MOSMART's origin

In April 2000, Bond asked Jordan to write an outline for the MOSMART program to help rural law enforcement battle meth. Jordan spent the next four weeks in his office designing the plan.

"Sen. Bond wanted to address meth in a different way," Jordan said. "He decided we needed a single point of contact -- a sheriff -- to over see the fiduciary duties and administer the program. ... Metro areas were already being addressed with their own drug officers and task forces, but the rural areas needed to be helped with meth in a fundamentally fair way."

Since 2000, $5.6 million in federal funds has been distributed to 33 sheriffs' offices and 16 multi-county drug task forces. The money was re-appropriated from the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Jordan and his two paid assistants monitor the program. Five other Missouri sheriffs from different geographic areas of the state serve as a volunteer governing panel.

Applicants apply and compete for the funds based on their problems with meth in their respective jurisdictions. Once the proposals are received, the panel reviews and makes awards. Jordan reviews the subcontractors to make sure they remain in compliance with the program's requirements.

Top priority in handing out the funds is given to sheriffs participating in a multi-jurisdictional drug task force so that the impact reaches several cities and towns. Others with priority include counties declared as high intensity drug trafficking areas but with no funding for the designation, sheriffs without a multi-jurisdictional task force, and sheriffs with more than 5,000 acres of national forest.

Numbers are important

Subcontractors use a four-page document called the El Paso Intelligence Center report No. 143 to report their meth arrests and incidents to the state.

"The EPIC reports are the only way we can see if the dollars we spend are being used effectively," Jordan said. "That's the first of two things we require of the subcontractors. The second is that they use electronic reporting and have e-mail capabilities so we can have those numbers almost instantly."

Having the information at hand enables Jordan and the panel of sheriffs to funnel the money directly to where its needed most, he said.

Last year, Missouri ranked as No. 1 in the country for meth lab seizures, with California a close second.

"That's a dubious honor to have, but most of us in law enforcement felt the problem was there and it needed to be reported on," Jordan said. "I hope with MOSMART we can give that honor back to California."

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160