>Following up on last December's major drug enforcement sweep, four Key West community leaders this week attended a U.S. Justice Department prevention seminar in Savannah, Ga.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration footed the bill for Key West Police Chief Buz Dillon, Norma Jean Sawyer of the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust, State Attorney Kirk Zuelch and Key West Police Sgt. Kathleen Ream, head of the police department's Community Policing Division, to attend the seminar. Communities that hosted special DEA teams in their effort to combat drugs were invited to send representatives. The training seminar's crime prevention information was geared to reinforce the impact of the DEA's local assistance.
Last May, Dillon asked the DEA to deploy a team to Key West because of increasingly violent drug traffickers in Key West. The problems were beyond the resources of the city police, he said. A six-month multi-agency investigation targeted four Key West and Stock Island drug trafficking organizations. The operation culminated in December's sweep, when 23 suspected drug traffickers were arrested. Officers also seized firearms, cash and narcotics.
The three-day seminar, called "The Cutting Edge," was developed by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice assistance. Topics included developing partnerships between law enforcement and community groups, creating a workable crime prevention plan that fits the community, and training objectives and benefits. The seminar wrapped up with an exercise on insights gained.
After the conference, Ream said, "Our goal will be to educate, motivate and organize our community about drugs and drug and crime-related issues."
Sawyer noted, "This conference has convinced me that open sales of drugs on our streets must be eliminated to change the negative image of the African-American community in Key West and to enhance the safety and well-being of our children and elderly residents."
"We are looking forward to mobilizing our community around a developed strategic initiative to reduce drugs and violence," Dillon added.
Zuelch concurred, saying, "I believe that the information received at the National Crime Prevention Council will enable us to successfully establish a community coalition to reduce drugs and crime in Key West."