OPINION North Kitsap
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Friday, December 6, 2013 | North Kitsap Herald
IN OUR OPINION
Bulding a unified front against heroin in Kitsap T
he Herald’s last editorial, “Mayor’s plan is a good one, but it’s not enough,” applauded Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson’s four-pronged action plan to stem the spread of heroin use in the city. The editorial also stated that the plan wasn’t enough, that we — the public, decision-makers, and law and justice officials — need to be concerned about heroin throughout the county, because what happens in one part of the county affects the whole county. We need a united front, lest we succeed in simply pushing one community’s heroin problem out onto another community’s streets. As that editorial was being written, the county’s law and justice officials were meeting in Poulsbo City Hall to discuss the mayor’s plan and to start developing a united front against heroin. “… We must get all of our service providers and law enforcement agencies to work together to fight it in Kitsap County — our home,” Poulsbo Police Chief Alan Townsend writes in a guest column in this edition. “On Nov. 26, all of the law enforcement agencies, prosecutor, human service providers, courts, health department, mental health providers, coroner, and some elected officials of Kitsap County came together in Poulsbo to commit to understanding the problem and working together to fight it.” Kitsap needs this unified effort, but access to treatment must be a component. Here’s a recap of various elements of the mayor’s plan. Mayor’s office: n Reach out to Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office for personnel support for an additional detective. n Coordinate with the school district on drug education. n Document what actions work and what doesn’t. n Establish a special benefit district to fund public safety personnel. Public Works: n Public Works will no longer handle any paraphernalia. Instead, employees will report paraphernalia to police. n Parking lot at American Legion Park will be closed. Parks will close at dusk. n Security cameras will be installed in certain locations. Police Department: n Increase patrols in parks and locations identified with paraphernalia. Enforce park closing hours. n All paraphernalia found and reported will be logged to establish a database of activity. n Increase bicycle patrols. n Add personnel by shifting emphasis from capital purchases to increased labor. Community: n Adopt a park program. Encourage residents to watch their neighborhood parks, using standards developed by the police department and parks and recreation commission. n “Take a picture: Be a hero” program. Encourage use of smartphones to record suspicious activity, and email photos to takeapicture@cityofpoulsbo.com.
Police chief: ‘You as community members can help’ fight heroin MY VIEW O
ver the last several weeks there has been a great deal of discussion in Poulsbo on the heroin issue. While it isn’t necessarily a pleasant topic, it needs to be discussed. And action has to be taken. The media has done a decent job of covering the problem, except that many of the stories make it appear that it’s only a Poulsbo problem. Actually it’s a nationwide problem, but we must get all of our service providers and law enforcement agencies to work together to fight it in Kitsap County — our home. On Nov. 26, all of the law enforcement agencies, prosecutor, human service providers, courts, health department, mental health providers, coroner, and some elected officials of Kitsap County came together in Poulsbo to commit to understanding the problem and working together to fight it. I commend Mayor Becky Erickson for her willingness to step out in front and work with all of the city departments and the community to put
By CHIEF ALAN L. TOWNSEND
together an aggressive action plan to combat the problem. We can’t just sit around and look at each other and wait for someone else to solve the problem for us. While all of the jurisdictions need to work together, we must also face the fact that Poulsbo’s problem is owned by Poulsbo and we have to step up and take action. Mayor Erickson has been willing to do just that. From the police department side, you will see extra bike patrols in the parks; eradication of homeless camps where drug paraphernalia is routinely found; tracking of paraphernalia to better focus on problem areas; directing homeless to service agencies; and, very importantly, adding a detective to investigate narcotics cases and some related crimes. This is a package deal so to speak and requires all of the pieces to
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“We will make a difference in Poulsbo. The first step is already done — we’ve recognized the problem.”
work. As I’ve said before, we can attribute about 80 percent of our criminal activity to heroin. You as community members can also help. We need people to report suspicious behavior and suspected drug activity; report drug paraphernalia when you come across it; avoid giving money to panhandlers; and adopt parks and open spaces. We will make a difference in Poulsbo. The first step is already done — we’ve recognized the problem. — Alan L. Townsend is chief of the Poulsbo Police Department. Follow him on Twitter @PoulsboPDChief.
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