SIKESTON -- Feeling they have a better handle on the methamphetamine problem, local law enforcement agencies are now joining forces to push crack cocaine distribution out of not only their jurisdictions but the entire region.
"A lot of violence in the area is associated with individuals in the crack cocaine trade, and we're making efforts to address that," said Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Kevin Glaser, coordinator of Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force.
About a month ago local law enforcement officials, including members of the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, Sikeston and Charleston Departments of Public Safety and Cape Girardeau Police Department, gathered for a roundtable about combatting the crack cocaine problem in the area.
The issue isn't something restricted to a single community, Glaser said.
"What goes on or happens in Cape Girardeau affects what goes on in Sikeston and Charleston and vice versa. If we take a dealer out of Charleston, in all probability it will have at least have a minimal effect of drugs going into the other communities," Glaser said.
Sikeston Department of Public Safety Chief Drew Juden agreed.
"It's not two people from Sikeston shooting at each other. It's a guy from Charleston and a guy from Sikeston or a guy from Cape and Charleston. We're not dealing with people from our own community. It's more of a regional flavor," Juden said about the crime trends.
Not wanting to give away too much information about the collaboration, Juden said the alliance means regular meetings by the law enforcement agencies.
"We're sharing a lot of intelligence and that's a big thing," Juden said. "While we've always had good community relations, I'm not sure we've always sat down and discussed things that are going on," Juden said about local law enforcement agencies.
Charleston Department of Public Safety Chief Robert Hearnes said he appreciates the agencies' willingness to help one another.
"It's a common problem to all of us, and I think we'll have better luck by working together," Hearnes said.
Crack cocaine has always been a problem in Southeast Missouri, but it hasn't been law enforcement's primary focus over the past several years, Glaser noted.
"We've been so inundated with methamphetamine over the years, we've taken our eyes off of individuals distributing crack cocaine," Glaser said.
When Glaser joined the drug task force in 1990, crack cocaine was the primary drug problem, he recalled.
"Then about 1995 we started seeing the influx of meth into the area. Meth took off, and a lot of efforts were concentrated on that problem. Meth is still a problem today, but we're also focusing on crack cocaine," Glaser said.
Although Glaser said he doesn't have any cold hard facts, the availability of cocaine is as available as it once was.
"An ounce of cocaine today can be bought at a price less than it was 10 years ago. The law of supply and demand also applies with the drug business. Because the prices are lower now, there's still a lot of supply out there and product on the street," Glaser said.
In addition to the aggressive law enforcement effort, community involvement is critical to success, Glaser said.
"We've got to have people out there willing to make the phone call and say, 'Drug activity is going on down the street from me,'" Glaser said. "One of the things that make a better community and safer community is the input from citizens."
Both Hearnes and Juden said it's important for those offering information to the police to provide details such as a license plate number, clothing description, physical description, etc.
Meanwhile, Juden said he thinks it'll be interesting to see what will happen.
"I think the key emphasis is the fact there's going to be a network set up of all the communities in Southeast Missouri that experience this problem," Juden said. "Instead of pushing the problem from one community to the next, we're going to try to address it on the regional basis."