Omaha Gets Federal Funds for Meth Fight

By Judith Nygren, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

Jan. 16–Omaha has received nearly $439,000 in federal money to fight what it calls a methamphetamine “scourge” that is expected to worsen.

On the heels of 2006, when 19 percent of people arrested on felony charges in Omaha tested positive for meth, Omaha applied for a federal grant to beef up public education, arrests and prosecution of users and suppliers.

The grant, from the Justice Department, was reviewed by the City Council this week. The council approved an agreement that gives the Douglas County Attorney’s Office nearly $120,000 to dedicate an attorney to the prosecution of meth offenders.

The Police Department will get about $276,000 for public service announcements, educational meetings and targeted enforcement. The rest will be used to study the effectiveness of the two-year effort.

In its grant application, Omaha said established cocaine and crack cocaine dealers continue to expand their operations in the metro area, but meth remains the drug of choice in Omaha.

The grant application cited drug seizures as evidence. In 2006, law enforcement confiscated 6,094 grams of cocaine and 1,975 grams of crack cocaine. By comparison, police took 21,262 grams of meth off the streets.

The grant will allow Omaha police to produce public service announcements targeted at children ages 10 to 16. The goal, according to the grant, is to dissuade the youngsters from getting involved in meth.

Police also will hold public meetings at which they will educate youths, parents, school officials and community leaders about the dangers of meth, how to identify a user and ways to report meth use and related crimes.

Graduates of the county’s drug court will be selected to participate in the presentations.

At the street level, police expect to conduct nearly 50 enforcement operations targeting meth dealers and users. Police hope that citizens will help identify target areas. Police aim to increase meth-related arrests by 5 percent, according to the grant.

The County Attorney’s Office will use its share of the grant to focus on the prosecution of those arrested on meth charges. One attorney will serve as a liaison between law enforcement and the prosecutor’s office.

The attorney also will help screen potential meth offenders for the county’s drug court program, which focuses on treating drug use among nonviolent offenders.

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