Crack Wars...

For those of us who have been patrolling the streets since the early 90's (or before), we can vividly remember what was known as the "crack wars" of that period. It seemed as if the emergence of crack cocaine in our communities was a huge drug tidal wave that hit us with little warning. I can remember working the street and noticing what appeared to be the beginning of crack use, only to realize within a matter of weeks that it seemed like every doper was on the rock. Crack cocaine use certainly has not gone away, but just when it looked like the flood waters subsided, another tsunami hits.

Meth Wave...

Ten years later I found myself working dope cases assigned to a HIDTA unit pursuing scab-faced, deranged, walking skeletons that looked like they were the real life version of some zombie horror flick. Meth had made its debut and labs were popping up everywhere. Just as fast as we could devote countless hours doing surveillance, buy-slides, tactical search warrant execution and then the tedious clean up, another two or three labs were up and running within hours, not days or weeks. Sometimes these new labs were operated by the same "meth-heads" who slipped out the back window as we rammed the front door.

Clandestine Methamphetamine Laboratory (CLANLAB) investigation was a new animal to law enforcement. Not because chemically they were dangerous (P2P, PCP labs, and others were on the scene earlier), but due to the fact their explosive growth was overwhelming. Unlike other covert labs, the meth lab growth did not diminish over time. It grew exponentially. Given the toxicity of the chemical refuse, volatile nature of the lab, and the exorbitant cost of clean-up (ranging from $2,000 to $8,000 for a bathroom sized lab), the media would often report that meth labs were "public enemy number one". The fact is most police agencies simply couldn’t afford to pay for the clean-up. Unbudgeted expenditures in the thousands kill police operations. Through creative federal ear-marks, the DEA stepped in and would absorb the entire clean-up cost as long as they were notified and their teams were given access to clean up the mess first.

Today, many factors compete for limit tax dollars available to public safety. These range from the rising cost of officer healthcare packages and gasoline for cruisers, to counter terrorism and other events. Whatever limited funds were available to combat CLANLAB operations is now even more in peril.