Thursday, January 19, 2006

It hits the fan in Baltimore Questions raised for years about city 'flex squad' in the Baltimore Sun (via Hit and Run). The Southwestern District flex squad has been disbanded and its officers suspended under a huge list of allegations, including rape charges against some officers, plus planting drugs, falsifying arrest reports and lots more. Troubles in the flex squad became public this month with the disclosure of the rape allegation. Jones, 28; Steven P. Hatley, 27; and Brian J. Shaffer, 28, have been charged with rape, conspiracy to rape, sexual offense, assault and violation of official duties. [...] While investigating the rape allegation, police said in an affidavit, they seized 11 bags of suspected cocaine from Shaffer's duffel bag[...] "When you're on a flex squad, you're going fishing," said a former top commander in the Baltimore Police Department, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he still works in law enforcement. "And you're going to the prime fishing spots. You're going where the drugs are; you're going where the guns are." [...] "They put stuff on you," said Marlon Harris, a 21-year-old Southwest Baltimore resident whose criminal record includes several drug arrests. "Knockers want you to give up a gun or a house, and they'll let you go. They're dirty. It was just a matter of time before they got caught. I'm glad." Again, I feel the need to point out that most police officers are good people who perform an excellent and important job (and if you want some excellent examples, meet some of the officers with LEAP). We see more of the bad officer in drug enforcement, since the scum inevitably finds its way there for the ultimate in corruption opportunities. I daresay that the drug war also corrupts many who, in another world would be acceptable police officers, but here got sucked in to the dark side. Why? Because the laws and the drug war society told them that their employers -- the citizens -- were actually their enemy, and they developed a war mentality in justifying their own tactics. 10:11:07 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Crack perspective Interesting article by Sharon Lerner in the Village Voice, Anatomy of a Drug Craze: Why Tough Laws Can't Claim Credit For Beating Back Crack Decades after the hysteria of the crack "epidemic," and the legacy of bad law (including racist bad law) that emerged and damaged our society far more than any drug epidemic could, it is now possible to analyze and understand. But while tough sentencing laws were effective in filling the prisons, drug experts say they had little to do with crack's decline. [...] So if the war on drugs didn't stamp out crack--and even made a bigger mess where the drug left off--why is crack receding to whatever extent it is? Experts say the answer lies in who has stopped using it--and who hasn't. The average age of those still smoking crack has increased over the past 10 years, with the largest group of users now in their thirties. Thus the "little brother theory": kids who have seen their older relatives and friends messed up by crack decide against using it themselves. "Crack is the lowest rung on the nasty-dirty ladder now," says John Galea, who runs the Street Studies Unit for the state's Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. "Kids just don't think it's cool anymore. Even heroin addicts look down on crackheads now." Some researchers say the little brother effect points to the beginning of the end for crack. But they also say that crack would be on the decline with or without its bad reputation, simply because most drugs enjoy only a limited heyday. Illegal drug fads typically go from incubation to plateau to decline over a period of years ( though some, like heroin, will go through the process many times, resurging in popularity as their bad reps fade from memory ). It's a very interesting article (read the part about how law enforcement actually made things worse), and it's nice to see someone in the media taking a look backward to, maybe, learn something. I suspect that there's a lot this could teach us about our current meth "epidemic" as well. (Speaking of which, check out Jan Frel's post Meth! Meth Disaster at Alternet (via TalkLeft).) 9:12:41 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Practice makes perfect For my regular readers... You don't get opportunities like this very often, so here's your chance. Be pleasant and polite. She's a nice liberal girl with a B.A. in political science who thinks she has the drug war figured out. 8:39:54 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []