Lane Hickenbottom/DN
DUTY SGT. Tim Salmen displays bricks of confiscated marijuana, each weighing about 2% pounds. Police seize thousands of pounds
of marijuana and other drugs each year in an effort to keep them off the streets.
Drug abuse critical problem
DRUGS from page 1
drug cases are prosecuted, Criminal Chief
Mike Heavican works closely with drug
task forces.
“We’ve seen a lot more drug prosecu
tions,” Heavican said, “and our caseload has
increased dramatically.”
Federal prosecutors target dealers and
suppliers higher up the chain than the aver
age street dealer, he said.
At the local, county and state levels,
Nebraska narcotics task-force drug seizures
Statewide figures for drugs seized by grant-funded narcotics task
forces. All measurements in grams.
Methamphetamines/
Cocaine Crack Marijuana Amphetamines
1989 6,203.3 2.8 149.5 1,181.9
1990 4,252.9 2,135.1 914.4 7,203.7
1991 6,671.5 2,587.8 1,834.4 7,313.4
1992 27,560 2,769.2 1,867.8 1,547.4
1993 709,653 7,969.7 6,365.9 922
1994 18,208 5,228 399.8 11,150
1995 24,478 2,707 1,271.2 15,543
1996 157,915 851 2,195.5 67,912
Source: Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
Jon Frank/DN
Nareedes arrests in Lincoln
First quarter stats for 1999 compared
to 1998:
many arrests are made, but
big-time suppliers and deal
ers quickly are handed over
for federal prosecution. At the
federal level, offenders often
get stiffer sentences because
judges must adhere to manda
tory minimum sentence
guidelines.
The Rucker homicide
was one of two drug-robbery
murders within the last year.
On Feb. 18, 17-year-old
Brandon Pickinpaugh was
killed in the Van Dorn Plaza,
48th and Van Dorn streets,
during an attempted robbery
of three-quarters of a pound
of marijuana and cash.
Though marijuana grows
wild in the area, Bullock said, most of
Lincoln’s drugs are imported. Most
methamphetamine found in this area is pro
duced in the southwestern United States or
Mexico, and then distributed nationwide,
Bullock said.
hi Nebraska, Grand Island has become
the center of methamphetamine distribution
and production, Bullock said.
“I’ve seen a lot of people change to meth
because there is so much available,” Bullock
said.
Although it’s significantly cheaper than
cocaine, methamphetamine costs $100 to
$120 per gram - not cheap, Bullock said,
and he has seen users with $200- to $300-a
day habits.
“For a long time we didn’t have large
amounts of meth,” Bullock said. “Now we
hear about pounds (of the drug) coming into
the community.”
Heroin use is also picking up, because
methamphetamine users will take it to tem
per their potentially violent high from
methamphetamine, Bullock said.
Last Monday, three men were arrested
outside a house on the 300 block of F Street
with 1 % pounds of methamphetamine and a
pound of marijuana.
Although methamphetamine replaced
crack cocaine as the city’s leading drug in
the early 1990s, crack-cocaine is still a prob
lem, Bullock said.
Crack cocaine comes into Lincoln from
several cities, including Omaha, Kansas
City, Mo., and Chicago.
LSD, mostly in the form of thin paper
that’s been soaked with the drug, shows up
irregularly in Lincoln, usually in the junior
high schools. And marijuana continues to be
a problem in Lincoln both on its own and as
a gateway to other drugs, he said.
“Marijuana is very dangerous in that
users are in the drug culture, and they will
use what is available,” Bullock said. “If
someone will do one drug, they will do any.”
Last spring police arrested two Lincoln
men for growing marijuana in their homes, -
one with 116 plants, the other with 36.
Many of the problems and crimes asso
ciated with drugs such as addiction, domes
tic abuse and child neglect are byproducts of
use, Bullock said.
“People out there are doing anything
they can to get the drug,” he said.
Robbery and burglary are two of the
most common crimes committed to get
money for drugs.
“Tell me how long your salary will han
dle a $300-a-day habit,” Bullock said.
The drug trade is spread throughout the
city and the population, Bullock said.
Narcotics arrests were up in 1998, and
that increase has continued into the first
quarter of 1999:654 in 1998, up from 439 in
1997.
Arrests jumped almost 49 percent in
those two years. In the first quarter of this
year, the number was up 17 percent over the
same time last year.
Lincoln Police also seized an estimated
$617,509 of drugs in 1998, up from
$318,460 the previous year.
“No place is immune (to drugs),”
Bullock said, and it is impossible to stereo
type users, comprising people junior high
age and up.
But, he added, statistics can’t tell the
whole story.
Lincoln police officers focus their
efforts on conspiracy investigations to arrest
major suppliers and dealers instead of trying
to seize large amounts of drugs. And
because some conspiracy arrests may not
involve drug seizures, they may not be
reported as narcotics arrests.
“It doesn’t matter how many ounces
they are caught with,” Bullock said. “It’s
how much they are involved with the trade.”
Interagency task forces, such as the one
here in Lincoln, enable police to better
attack the drug trade by pooling agency
resources and encouraging communication,
Heavican said.
“Intelligence is
largely wasted if not
shared,” Heavican said.
“And task forces help
that.”
Task forces allow
police to continue an
investigation outside
their normal jurisdic
tion, which is especially
beneficial in drug-traf
ficking cases.
“We don’t have to
stop in Nebraska,”
Bullock said. “We can
follow (an investiga
tion) to the source even
if it is in California,
Arizona or anywhere.”
Another advantage is that task-force
officers work closely with local and federal
prosecutors during their investigations,
which helps more cases reach prosecution,
Heavican said.
During the investigation, prosecutors
advise officers on search warrants and how
to seize evidence.
Then, when a case is presented to a
grand jury or a judge to authorize prosecu
tion, there are fewer problems getting evi
dence admitted in court and prosecutors are
already familiar with the case.
In addition to enforcement, police attack
the drug problem with education.
As part of the DARE program, officers
teach elementary and junior high school stu
dents about the dangers of drugs and how to
say no. Officers also speak to community
groups about drugs and the problems in
Lincoln.
Community involvement can be a vital
part of drug enforcement, Bullock said.
Crime Stoppers tips are an important
source of information.
“It is important to work with the com
munity, so they can let us know where the
problems are,” Bullock said.
People in the community need to be
observant and know what is going on in
their neighborhoods.
Though education is important, Bullock
said, it will not solve the current problem.
“Education has a long-term impact, but “
enforcement is what to do for the problem
now,” Bullock said. “And we do have a prob
lem now.”
On-campus
drug crimes
on the rise
atUNL
CAMPUS from page 1
Bushing also cited the work of
the Community Service Officers,
who periodically check all of the
floors in residence halls. Their
objective is to insure the safety and
protection of the residents, Bushing
said.
Bushing said in the past few
years, marijuana has become easier
to obtain.
“There has been a very large
increase in the use of marijuana,”
Bushing said. “When more students
use marijuana, then there is higher
demand, which makes the drug eas
ier to get.”
Glenn Gray, assistant director of
residence life and coordinator of
student behavior, offered other
explanations for the rise in drug
related offenses.
in Chancellor Moeser
assembled a task force to look into
the influence of drugs on university
students.
“The task force found that NU
students were above the norm in
activities like binge drinking,” Gray
said. “Drugs were also found in an
increasing frequency.”
After the findings of the chan
cellor’s task force, University
Housing assembled a task force in
1996. The two groups’ findings
were similar.
“We found that students didn’t
respect the University’s policy on
drugs and alcohol,” Gray said. “So
we reviewed our policy in residence
halls and tried to create a clearer
understanding of our policy and the
consequences of breaking it.”
The punishment for a first
Number of drug investigations that
ended with arrests by campus police.
offense of the
university drug
policy is com
munity service
and mandatory
participation in a
drug and alcohol
training course.
The course
consists of a
small group
meeting, which
meets for two
hours on two
days and ex
plores the role of
drugs and alco
hoi in college students lives, Gray
said.
Punishment for a second offense
could include probation, relocation
to another housing unit and a more
aggressive rehabilitation program.
The University Health Center
runs the more aggressive program,
which includes two one-on-one
counseling sessions.
Gray said the university’s policy
on drugs has become more rigid
since the task force findings were
released.
“The drug education programs
were not mandatory in every situa
tion before 1995,” Gray said. “We
are also much quicker to call the stu
dent’s parents and evict the student
from the residence halls if neces
sary.
“We have made strides to
become one of the leading universi
ties in the nation in the fight against
drugs on campus. From the chancel
lor to the students and back up,
everyone has been affected.”
Students who violate the drug
policy also face legal consequences.
Bushing said the punishments vary
according to die student’s record and
the circumstances of the offense.
“The punishments can vary
from pre-trial diversion to a fine and
court costs,” Bushing said. “It really
depends on how frequently the stu
dent has been in trouble with the
law.”
