New methods to battle drugs

Sheriff Kenny Furlong said upward of 80 percent of crimes committed in Carson City are somehow drug-related.

"A lot of the crime we see, especially petty-larceny types, are a result of people acting out while under the influence, or committed to facilitate the lifestyle of drugs. In other words, I'm stealing to buy drugs." he explained. "That concerns me horribly."

Citing exact statistics is difficult as records are only kept of the primary cause of arrest; however, in many crimes drugs are involved, but not the primary infraction.

Law-enforcement officials have been working together to fight the problem, developing several new programs. They include a hotline to anonymously report methamphetamine activity, a Special Enforcement Team dedicated to investigating drug-related crime, and a regional drug court.

Preliminary results indicate they may be working.

District Attorney Noel Waters is compiling the data from the Western Nevada Regional Drug Court that has been in operation for three years.

Although information from all the counties has not yet been processed, he's discovered that of the 72 Carson City graduates, 79 percent of them have not been re-arrested.

That excludes people who were arrested before completing the program.

In all, 249 people graduated from Carson City and Douglas, Lyon, Storey, Mineral and Churchill counties.

"That's pretty positive," he said. "We've learned that until they address their problems, they tend to get re-arrested."

Jail, he said, is not the cure.

"It's not just a problem for cops, courts and prosecutors," he said. "It's a social problem. You've got to convince people it's not a good idea to get involved with drugs.

"Convince them to raise their children better. Make it socially unpopular. You have to help them get off. If they don't, then we'll throw their butt in jail."

Furlong said it is in the community's interest to increase preventative measures.

"If we could wipe out the meth problem, that would have tremendous impact on the loss of property in Carson City," he said. "The earlier we can get to them and discourage those behaviors, the better off we will be."

• Contact reporter Teri Vance at tvance@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1272.