Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Linn County Sheriff Tim Mueller on Aug. 4 formally announced the formation of the Linn Drug Task Force.
The Linn Drug Task Force will include Albany, Sweet Home and Lebanon police departments along with Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
“This pledge of cooperation between agencies to attack the use of narcotics in our area is born of the need to rally together with manpower, equipment and intelligence to combat narcotics in our area,” Mueller said. “Law enforcement agencies in Linn County, including federal agencies with a narcotics mandate, have a long-standing history of cooperation; and this pledge of cooperation is designated to reinforce that history and commitment.”
The Task Force consists of narcotics detectives from each agency teamed with detectives whose primary mission is to investigate property crimes, Mueller said. Each agency will maintain supervision of its team members, and those team members will interact on a daily basis in an effort to act in concert.
“We’re not set up as a team per se,” said Sweet Home narcotics detective Jeff Lynn. “We all operate out of our own home agencies.”
The Task Force succeeds the Valley Interagency Narcotics Team (VALIANT). The Sweet Home City Council passed a resolution agreeing to dissolve the team in July. VALIANT, which included Linn and Benton County police agencies, had been inactive for about two years following the discovery that evidence had been mishandled.
VALIANT had its own supervisors and offices, Lynn said.
Methamphetamines will be a primary focus for detectives right now.
“It’s worse, and it’s getting worse,” Lynn said of the meth problem. “It’s such an addictive drug.”
That’s from his observation working in narcotics for about two and a half years.
“Maybe my eyes have just been opened now, but I think i’t’s because it’s more of a problem,” Lynn said. “People get involved in that, and they apparently can’t get out” no matter how badly their health, hygiene and appearance deterioriate.
Meth drives some 80 to 90 percent of all property crimes, Lynn said. Users “are more aggressive, more paranoid.”
“Thefts, from my standpoint, they’re all related to meth,” Lynn said. Users steal to pay for their meth supplies. Often it is on the barter system, where the user trades the stolen items to a dealer in exchange for the drug.
“I really don’t see a change in Sweet Home operations right now,” Lynn said. After VALIANT operations were put on hold, Sweet Home still had a good working relationship with other agencies and worked together on a daily basis.
“We’re assisting each other on a daily basis,” he said. Linn County has two detectives each in narcotics and property with a supervising sergeant, the same model Sweet Home is using with a detective each in narcotics and property crimes.
“They go hand in hand,” Lynn said. In a search warrant, it’s not uncommon to locate stolen property, such as a case of cordless drills in a trailer home.
The challenge then is to find out where it came from and prove it’s stolen, Lynn said.
“I don?t think we can have a whole lot of effect until you affect the demand side,” he said. Take out a big dealer, and someone else will fill the hole.
“If there’s demand, someone will sell it,” Lynn said, but “right now, we’re just doing what we can to impact the dealers.”
To really stop the problem, the demand, “I think it stems from education, family ? communitywide people have to get involved,” he said.
Police are trying to educate the public, and any time they are asked they go and talk to civic organizations and groups about the problem, Lynn said. “It affects the entire community. The Legislature, they’re trying to take steps to deal with it.”
“Each agency has Task Force members available to present informative talks about the narcotics problems in our area,” Mueller said. “These presentations should can be scheduled by contacting any of the above-mentioned law enforcement agencies.”
“I’d love for people to call me,” Lynn said. “I routinely talk with citizens.”
Signs of a house where meth is cooked or dealt include excessive traffic day and night, Lynn said. It also includes traffic that stays for short periods and possibly a chemical odor emanating from the house while meth is cooked.
To speak with Lynn about a presentation or to report suspicious activity, call 367-5181.