Richland County’s safety forces, law enforcement officers and concerned citizens gathered on Friday for a lesson on narcotics information at Operation Street Smart, a program created by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office designed to take community-oriented policing to a new level.
Two current undercover detectives with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Capt. Shawn Bain and retired Sgt. Michael Powell, who possess more than 50 years of combined narcotics experience, conduct the program. Bain said the premise of the program is for anyone with access to youth, including D.A.R.E. and school resource officers, juvenile detectives, school administrators and school board members, teachers and parents.
“You’re generally not going to see the drugs as a parent, but you are going to see the paraphernalia, so if you know what that paraphernalia is and what drug it’s associated to, you’re going to be far and away ahead of the game when it comes to knowing what drug your child is abusing,” said Bain. “We go over a lot of signs and signals for (adults) to look for, physiological affects of the drugs, body language and all those kinds of things.”
A spread of seemingly random objects accompanied Bain and Powell’s presentation on Friday, including a lipstick tube, a pop can, a CD case, a highlighter and a wireless mouse. The officers demonstrated that all of these items and more have been converted to pipes, drug safes and digital scales cleverly disguised as ordinary objects. Bain said many of the items shown on Friday were purchased undercover at “head” shops, taken from arrestees or found using a search warrant.
“A mother attended one of our presentations and found an open hose clamp open in her child’s bedroom with a piece of sandpaper,” said Bain. “It didn’t mean anything. These items, the hose clamp and sandpaper, are used to shave that pill down so you can snort it. She lost her child to heroin and pills; it’s something she missed and now she’s blaming herself.”
Other items shown to those present on Friday included actual examples of current designer street drugs such as XTC, bath salts, huffing, LSD, GHB, K2/spice, and khat. Officers escort the items throughout the audience for a hands-on effect. A strong emphasis was also placed on the physiological effects of drugs and indicators to look for, particularly for drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, crack, heroin and methamphetamine as teenagers still heavily abuse these drugs.
Community Action for Capable Youth (CACY) Executive Director Tracee Anderson said she brought the Operation Street Smart presentation to Richland County because she believes education and information is power. Besides paraphernalia and concealment techniques, the program provides current and up-to-date narcotics information on trends, terminology and physiological effects to individuals who deal with youth on a daily basis.
“I feel strongly to open up information particularly to Richland County for adults,” said Anderson. “This room is filled with professionals, daycare providers, nurses, EMS; we have a lot from various law enforcements, teachers, counselors and parents. We have a wide variety and that really shows you just how far-reaching all of this concern is, no matter what you’re doing.”
The Operation Street Smart program is a collaborative effort between D.A.R.E. and the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which is the Sheriff’s Office undercover narcotics branch. Through the Franklin County Commissioner’s Office, a Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant was obtained to fund the program, believed to be the first of its kind in the United States.
“I hope it opens their eyes to think more outside the box, that little piece of something or another in their kids’ bedroom that meant nothing to them before today now means a great deal to them,” said Bain. “Learn from other’s mistakes, so we don’t make the same mistakes.”
Community Policing Officer Gary Kiener with the Richland County Sheriff’s Office said the biggest lesson he’d learned so far was the different methods of hiding drugs, though he noted many items shown are more often seen in bigger cities.
“Some of the stuff they’re showing us is stuff that might be in big cities, and bottom line is cost,” said Kiener. “Some of the equipment they have is $50; people around here don’t have that money because it goes strictly to drugs. We may not be seeing a lot of what they’re showing us, but it also gives us an idea of what to look for. I can guarantee we’re probably missing a lot.”
Kiener noted parents in particular benefit from the Operation Street Smart program by knowing what to look for in their child’s room. He said what could have been passed over before now can be identified as drug-related, so long as parents are diligent.
“A lot of parents say they don’t check their kids’ rooms because of privacy reasons,” said Kiener. “I say they’re under 18 and under your roof; you have the right to go through their rooms. Sometimes a lot of parents know what’s going on and see the signs, but sometimes don’t want to know what’s going on.”
Anderson said the lessons learned on Friday apply to citizens across the board, whether they have children or not.
“If people know what to look for as far as concealment, if they know what’s around them as far as the drug trade, and what’s pushing it as far as the economics, the more aware they’ll be and they’ll be better parents, citizens and neighbors,” said Anderson. “What we hate hearing in this profession is, ‘I didn’t know there were signs.’ Prevention is all about catching things as quickly as possible or preventing it completely.”
“Prevention is all about catching things as quickly as possible or preventing it completely,” said Tracee Anderson.
