Title
Proposed Gainesville Police Department Comprehensive Drug Plan Funding from Federal LECFTF (B)
Explanation
The Gainesville Police Department is committed to the reduction of drug crimes and crimes associated with drug activity in the City of Gainesville. Visible drug activity decreases the quality of life in our neighborhoods, and the effects of drugs on citizens are far-reaching. GPD recommends creating and funding a Comprehensive Drug Plan which is a multi-faceted approach to drug problems that will address prevention, education, treatment, and enforcement issues.
This plan covers a 14-month period beginning July 1, 2003. The primary goal of the GPD Comprehensive Drug Plan is the reduction of visible drug activity in neighborhoods throughout the City of Gainesville. The reduction of illegal drug activity will improve the quality of life for the citizens of Gainesville. Secondary goals are to foster and further develop community partnerships that reduce drug demand and treat identified drug offenders. Illegal drug dealing will be targeted at all levels.
As part of the GPD Comprehensive Drug Plan, enforcement will only be successful if it is backed up by prevention, education, and treatment efforts. While the majority of dollars spent in this initiative are funneled toward enforcement, out of necessity and the costs involved, the Gainesville Police Department will utilize extensive partnerships to leverage dollars and efforts in this arena. GPD does not have the expertise nor the resources to provide treatment. Therefore, these partnerships will be critical to the success of the Drug Plan.
In order to maximize the effectiveness of the enforcement portion of the Drug Plan, specialized training will be conducted for the officers working the enforcement assignments. Officers will receive training in Search & Seizure, proper enforcement methods, community interaction, and other topics. The use of trained officers will ensure the safety of citizens, officers, and suspects. It will also assist in maintaining relationships with community groups and safeguard civil rights of possible criminal suspects. Only officers who have attended the specialized training sessions will be permitted to work enforcement assignments.
The enforcement portion of this plan is focused on all levels of drug dealing, though the majority of costs incurred will be related to street-level drug dealing and its impact on local communities. The enforcement aspect will utilize both uniformed and plainclothes officers. Enforcement priorities will be coordinated by Operations and Special Investigations Division (SID) Commanders on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Sector Lieutenants will assist in problem identification and coordination of resources on a weekly rotating basis. Commanders will evaluate problems, develop plans of action, and prioritize the responses to the problems identified. Enforcement in identified target areas will be a combination of uniformed and plainclothes details, with an emphasis on visible, "open-air" drug activity occurring in Gainesville neighborhoods.
While the entire Drug Plan will be publicized prior to implementation in communities, it is especially important that the enforcement component be fully explained to the citizens of Gainesville. GPD will explain the plan to neighborhood crime watches, homeowners associations, partnering entities such as the Black on Black Crime Task Force, media outlets, and GPD informational sources such as the newsletter, weekly radio show, and GPD, website prior to implementation to ensure community members understand the reasons for enhanced enforcement efforts. Additional expansion of the GPD website with a link to the Comprehensive Drug Plan and how the money is being spent will boost awareness of the program. It is recommended that the link incorporate a listing of all drug arrests by at least name and location of arrest similar in set up to the successful prostitution link on the website.
Operations and SID Commanders will track and maintain enforcement results in order to more effectively deploy resources during the period that the Comprehensive Drug Plan is in effect. Prevention, Education, Awareness, and Treatment efforts will also be monitored in order to get maximum results from the dollars spent on each program.
Fiscal Note
Funding for this $308,000.00 expenditure is available in the Federal Law Enforcement Contraband Forfeiture Trust Fund, as allowable under Federal 21 U.S.C. ยง 881, found in the U.S. Department of Justice, "A Guide to Equitable Sharing of Federally Forfeited Property for State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies". The balance in the account is $3,610,719.66, inclusive of items still pending.
Recommendation
The City Commission authorize the Gainesville Police Department to appropriate and expend an amount not to exceed $308,000.00 from the Federal Law Enforcement Contraband Forfeiture Trust Fund for the Comprehensive Drug Plan as detailed in the explanation.