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Council Keeps City Police In Area Drug-fight Squad

Council Keeps City Police In Area Drug-fight Squad  image
Parent Issue
Day
18
Month
March
Year
1975
Copyright
Copyright Protected
Rights Held By
Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
OCR Text

WANT is still wanted, at least by a majority of Ann Arbor City Council members. The city's participation in the Washtenaw Area Narcotics Team (WANT) was endorsed by council Republicans Monday night, killing off an attempt by the Human Rights Party to withdraw the city's participation in that undercover drug squad. HRP Councilwoman Kathleen Kozachenko proposed the withdrawal, claiming WANT has been ineffective and has actually helped increase the amount of local drug related crime. "I think it's a completely illegitimate use of our tax money," she said. The purpose of the special squad is supposedly to curtail the dealers and major sources of hard drugs, she said. But instead, shéa&ded, most fine squad s activity has been centered around arresting small-time pushers and users. She pointed to recently released statistics showing in 1974 there were 141 arrests in the county as the result of WANT investigations." Only 31 of these 'were for sale or delivery of heroin, and the average arrest was for a quantity of heroin with a street valué of $100. The figures she referred to, released by the prosecuting attorney's office, valued the heroin seized or purchased at $60 720, and the cocaine seized at $30,705. The claim that WANT is increasing drug related crime was detailed by HRP member Frank Shoichet. He said by arresting users and pushers the pólice were drying up the local drug, market, thus increasing street prices and forcing users to commit more crimes to pay for their habits. Kozachenko and Shoichet advocated another approach invohing legalizing heroin and placing addicts on main ten anee programs to relieve their addiction and make it unnecessary to commit crimes. GOP Councilman Robert L. Henry, Third Ward, said the claim only smalltime users and pushers were being arrested by WANT was "a bunch of unadulterated baloney." Arrest records of the persons charged show some were the biggést dealers in the county, he said. WANT has made a "significant inroad" in stopping hard drug traffic, he claimed. This contention was backed by Pólice Chief Walter Krasny. The' 141 arrests were only those that took place in enaw County, he said, adding that many others took place in Wayne, Jackson, Livingston and Lenawee Counties. He also told council one of the largest drug arrests New York city has ever made was the culmination of an investigation that began in Ann Arbor. "We're not dealing with nickle and dime persons when they're going around with guns better than we have and throwing $16,000 out of car Windows," he said, referring to an incident that occurred last year during a pólice pursuit. The city's contribution to WANT consists of two officers paid by the city, plus information and pólice backup when requested for raids. Krasny said his department provides no money for buying drugs or paying informants. These items are Daid by the prosecutor's office or State Pólice .. "I'd be the first to recommend we pull out of WANT if I thought it was useless," Krasny said. He added that the effectiveness of the squad isn't just in the number of arrests made, but also in how it is able to stop the flow of drugs into this area. Countering the argument that the squad is helping increase drug related crime, Krasny presented council with crime statistics showing Ann Arbor's crime rate is down about one per cent, while in other cities it is up about 16 per cent. Republican support for WANT included Councilman John D. McCormick, Fifth Ward, who said he'd be interested in increasing the city's participation in the squad. _____- Council Democrats supported Koza- chenko's proposal, but they said not for the same reasons. Democratie Carol Jones, Second Ward, questioned the effectiveness of WANT and said the two city officers could be used better in other ways. She added that the State Pólice, who direct WANT activities, should be used to help local departments, not vice versa. First Ward Democrat Norris Thomas added that if the State Pólice organization wants locally based officers, it would pay ior them. Along with defeating the attempt to withdraw f rom WANT, on a 6 to 5 vote, council also defeated another HRP sponsored measure to urge the state to disband the squad and usé the money for social service programs instead .