Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 17, 1990 TAG: 9004170226
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: MARGIE FISHER RICHMOND BUREAU
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long
That was the message Monday from Sussex County Sheriff E. Stuart Kitchen on the opening day of a two-day "summit on drugs" convened by Gov. Douglas Wilder.
Kitchen said law enforcement officials, particularly in more rural sections of Virginia, are being handicapped by shrinking state financial assistance at a time when they need more state help, not less, to fight drugs and drug-related crimes.
He likened the situation to the state saying, "It's time for the Normandy invasion . . . but you're going to have to finance it by holding a bake sale."
Kitchen's pitch for more funding came shortly after Wilder opened the conference for law enforcement officials by telling them that state funds to combat drugs may be severely limited.
Wilder told the conference participants that he is ready to join them "in the trenches" to "fight the oppressive drug empire," but the battle must depend on innovative ideas and a unity of spirit rather than on money.
Through amendments to the state's budget, which must be approved by the General Assembly when it reconvenes Wednesday for the so-called "veto session," Wilder proposes to make available about $1.2 million to carry out programs that may be recommended at the drug conference.
The $1.2 million will be in addition to $2.4 million already approved by the legislature to establish "high intensity drug crime zones" throughout the state - meaning the total available will be $3.6 million.
But "don't look for $3.6 million more," Wilder said Monday in summarizing his message to the law enforcement leaders.
"While having even more money to combat drugs and crime would be ideal, it's imperative that we remain realistic about the fiscal condition of the commonwealth and about the burdens already being shouldered by the citizens and businesses of this state," he said in his speech. "Virginians must live within their means; we must likewise fight drugs and crime within our means."
Kitchen said he is aware that Wilder "inherited a tough situation" by facing a downturn in state revenues when he took office, by having to oversee budget cuts and by having to keep tight reins on additional spending proposals.
But at the same time, the Sussex County sheriff said law enforcement officials, particularly in rural areas, "have stretched our resources to the limit. We need help. I don't care how innovative a program is, it's going to take some money to implement even the most cost-effective, innovative program to fight drugs."
Kitchen complained that in many counties, sheriff's departments are understaffed and that what staff they have is spread so thin with routine duties that it's virtually impossible to free up manpower to concentrate on drug problems.
Where state policy has been to provide funding to rural communities to keep their law enforcement efforts on a par with more populous areas, Kitchen said state government is now backing away from that policy and shifting more of the financial burden to the local governments. Many rural counties have no economic base and no financial resources to make up the loss in state aid, and Kitchen said the financial cutbacks by the state are hitting them at the very time that more drug criminals are migrating into rural areas.
Kitchen's speech at the drug conference represented the "rural perspective" on the problem. Delivering the "urban perspective" was Hampton Police Chief Patrick G. Minetti and presenting the "national perspective" was Terrence M. Burke, acting administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
In each case, the speakers spared no rhetoric in describing drug problems in alarming terms.
Virginia and the nation are "facing the worst crisis since World War II. We are on the verge of losing the greater part of an entire generation of our young people. . . . Even our brightest kids are falling into the black hole of drug addiction," Kitchen said.
Minetti said "the scourge of this terrible epidemic is unprecedented in our nation's history" and is the foundation for "some of the most grievous social problems" Americans have ever faced.
"Internationally, I think we're facing as bad a situation as we've ever faced in our nation's history," said Burke. He suggested that every time U.S. officials believe that one aspect of drug trafficking seems to be coming under control, a new problem crops up.
At the same time, Burke said he is optimistic because the Bush administration has, for the first time, provided a national strategy for fighting drugs. Also, Burke said he is encouraged that states are gearing up for action through such conferences as the one called by Wilder, and that communities and citizens are "coming together with genuine concern for what is happening."
Wilder told reporters that he plans to visit neighborhoods in Virginia that have been especially hard hit by the drug problem. Noting that his Richmond law office is located in one such neighborhood, he said he wants to emphasize that most residents of those areas want illegal drugs stamped out.
He said he does not expect to lay out a comprehensive strategy for Virginia until the first of next year. While law enforcement will be an integral part of that strategy, he said he also plans to convene conferences on drug education, prevention and treatment.
Wilder told conference participants to turn a deaf ear to the "ever-vocal naysayers who'll claim that we're wasting our time," including those who say the only solution is to surrender and legalize drugs.
"While time constraints prohibit me from going into the many arguments against legalization, one argument silences any and all other debate. Simply: It's morally wrong - not to mention cowardly - to give up the fight before it's even begun. For drugs themselves are morally wrong," Wilder said.
by CNB