By Tim Arnett
WABASH,Indiana – Amid what can only be called an epidemic of drug use in Wabash County, the members of the Wabash County Drug Task Force have been cut in half to just two. In contrast, a source in Miami County confirmed that there are eight full-time members of the CLEAN Team Task Force, in addition to five part-time officers who help. Of course, the CLEAN Team works both Miami and Fulton Counties, unlike the Drug Task Force which only serves Wabash.
According to Wabash Mayor Scott Long, the number problem is only a temporary one. One member each of the Wabash and North Manchester Police Departments retired in recent months which has made the unit shorthanded. Now, the task force has only one member from the Sheriff’s Department and another from the Wabash City Police. The numbers can’t easily be increased because law enforcement departments all over the county are shorthanded to some degree. Long on how the length of time it will take to get the Drug Task Force back up to full strength.
Long added that the Drug Task Force is only one factor in combating the problem the city has had with drugs. During the C3 Mayoral Debate on October 5th, 2015, Long also said that we cannot arrest our way out of the local drug problem.
All the while, the drug use is becoming more rampant all over the county, according to Utopian Oasis Founder Kitt Bettencourt. She wants to expand Narcotics Anonymous-like meetings in the city because, in a bit of good news, more and more people are wanting help for addiction.
Wabash Police Chief Matt Bruss said that a four person Drug Task Force can be effective in a county the size of Wabash County. Wabash County Sheriff Bob Land did tell MiBash News that the low number of the Drug Task Force members is slightly concerning. But, Land added, the the other law enforcement in the county can pick up the slack. While officers on the street deal with drugs on a daily basis, what sets the task force apart is their ability to conduct long-term investigations into dealers and users alike.
The Wabash Drug Task Force is a multi jurisdictional unit that is financially affiliated with the JEAN Team in Marion/Grant County… The task force has worked in every surrounding county and other areas including Kokomo and Fort Wayne… I do not believe this has changed since my retirement 1 year ago… The current Mayor as you quotes, said that we could not arrest our way out of the drug problem during his campaign… Immediately following the election, I (the Task Force Leader) was put back in uniform to cover shortages… It added up to maintaining enough man power to allow the patrol shift ample manpower to maintain their days off and vacation schedules without interruption at the cost of drug enforcement… My decision to retire was made for two reasons #1 I have never worked in such a capacity without the full support of my administration, and #2 a quite unique opportunity arose at a good time and I capitalized on it… What we have witnessed following my reassignment and subsequent retirement and the retirement of Sgt Brian Enyeart during my reassignment, is a smaller task force under a new administration that is not proactive… Apparently, aggressive enforcement efforts and the reality that you may get arrested in Wabash if you use or deal drugs was somewhat effective because I’ve seen nothing but more addiction issues and overdose deaths or incidents in the past year than ever before… If we can’t arrest our way out of this problem or cannot win the war on drugs with strict enforcement, what is this administration’s strategy, to subdue the policing efforts and do little or nothing..? Guess what..? It’s not working there fellas… Get tough again, make them fearful, it’s time to rethink your strategy…