By Brian Gray
bgray@ themonroetimes.com
MONROE - Local law enforcement officials believe that the number of teens using drugs is increasing.
Specifically, marijuana, oxycontin and cocaine use in on the rise, according to Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley.
Kelley's belief that drug use has increased isn't based on the number of arrests. In 2008, four juveniles were arrested for drug spossession. There were also four juveniles arrested in 2009 for drug possession. There were 24 adults arrested for drug possession in Monroe in 2009 compared with 29 adults in 2008.
Instead, Kelley said he bases his belief that drug use has increased on intelligence work done by police officers and detectives.
"They talk to a lot of people," Kelley said of his officers. "It isn't so much that there is a specific number we can point to. We get the information from tips and from complaints and from people we talk to.
"What they're telling us is that more people are using illegal drugs."
One reason is society as a whole and another reason is the availability of drugs, they said.
Kelley, Green County Sheriff Randy Roderick and two agents from the State Line Area Narcotics Team (SLANT), who requested their names not be used because they work undercover, said more people are reporting the use of illegal drugs.
SLANT includes agents from the Monroe Police Department, the Green County Sheriff's Department, the Stephenson County Sheriff's Department, the Rockford, Ill. Police Department, the Freeport Police Department, the Loves Park, Ill. Police Department and the Illinois State Police.
The SLANT officers discussed the wider influence of drug arrests in the several jurisdictions covered by the organization, rather than specifically Monroe or Green County. Investigations by SLANT led to the arrests of a couple in April in Lafayette County who operated a methamphetamine lab in their home and a drug operation in Juda.
SLANT agents said society often sends mixed signals about drug use. For example, anti-drug campaigns start but soon fall out of the spotlight because of other issues, or because funding for the programs is diverted to other things.
"Society gets on anti-drug campaigns and then it goes away," one agent said.
In addition, they said, society sends mixed messages. Athletes and celebrities who are caught using illegal drugs often get light penalties, and go on with their lives as if nothing happened. That sends the wrong message to kids, they said.
Kelley, who was a drug agent in the early 1990s, said drugs are more available now than they were then.
One reason is because Green County is in the path between the Freeport and Rockford area and Madison. People using or selling drugs in the two areas will travel through Green County and can find people here who want to buy drugs.
The police officers said marijuana is the most common type of drug, but it often leads to other drugs. There's less hesitation to try other illegal drugs once they've "crossed the line" to try marijuana, Kelley said.
Cocaine is another drug which has continued to gain popularity, the drug agents said. It can be snorted or smoked or injected into a vein. It gives an intense high, they said, but it also has deadly consequences.
"People who smoke cocaine once are hooked," the agents said.
"You shouldn't view cocaine and marijuana differently," Kelley said. "They're both illegal. They're both harmful."
Alcohol still remains the number one drug of choice among young people, Kelley said.
The Green County United Prevention Professionals for Youth (GUPPY) conducted a Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 2007 that provided statistics about drug use in Green County, compared with the state and the nation. The survey, which was released in 2009, was given to middle school and high school students.
According to the survey, more than 40 percent of Green County teens had at least one drink of alcohol on at least one day during the past 30 days before the survey was conducted. The percentage was lower than the state average of almost 49 percent and the national average of almost 45 percent.
Kelley said society makes drinking look glamorous, and kids get caught up in trying to be with the "in crowd."People don't tend to view beer as a drug or view it as something serious, but they should, he said.
"Nearly every call that an officer responds to, particularly at night, but still even in the day time, has to do with alcohol," Kelley said.
Coming Tuesday: Young people also see more drug use.
bgray@ themonroetimes.com
MONROE - Local law enforcement officials believe that the number of teens using drugs is increasing.
Specifically, marijuana, oxycontin and cocaine use in on the rise, according to Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley.
Kelley's belief that drug use has increased isn't based on the number of arrests. In 2008, four juveniles were arrested for drug spossession. There were also four juveniles arrested in 2009 for drug possession. There were 24 adults arrested for drug possession in Monroe in 2009 compared with 29 adults in 2008.
Instead, Kelley said he bases his belief that drug use has increased on intelligence work done by police officers and detectives.
"They talk to a lot of people," Kelley said of his officers. "It isn't so much that there is a specific number we can point to. We get the information from tips and from complaints and from people we talk to.
"What they're telling us is that more people are using illegal drugs."
One reason is society as a whole and another reason is the availability of drugs, they said.
Kelley, Green County Sheriff Randy Roderick and two agents from the State Line Area Narcotics Team (SLANT), who requested their names not be used because they work undercover, said more people are reporting the use of illegal drugs.
SLANT includes agents from the Monroe Police Department, the Green County Sheriff's Department, the Stephenson County Sheriff's Department, the Rockford, Ill. Police Department, the Freeport Police Department, the Loves Park, Ill. Police Department and the Illinois State Police.
The SLANT officers discussed the wider influence of drug arrests in the several jurisdictions covered by the organization, rather than specifically Monroe or Green County. Investigations by SLANT led to the arrests of a couple in April in Lafayette County who operated a methamphetamine lab in their home and a drug operation in Juda.
SLANT agents said society often sends mixed signals about drug use. For example, anti-drug campaigns start but soon fall out of the spotlight because of other issues, or because funding for the programs is diverted to other things.
"Society gets on anti-drug campaigns and then it goes away," one agent said.
In addition, they said, society sends mixed messages. Athletes and celebrities who are caught using illegal drugs often get light penalties, and go on with their lives as if nothing happened. That sends the wrong message to kids, they said.
Kelley, who was a drug agent in the early 1990s, said drugs are more available now than they were then.
One reason is because Green County is in the path between the Freeport and Rockford area and Madison. People using or selling drugs in the two areas will travel through Green County and can find people here who want to buy drugs.
The police officers said marijuana is the most common type of drug, but it often leads to other drugs. There's less hesitation to try other illegal drugs once they've "crossed the line" to try marijuana, Kelley said.
Cocaine is another drug which has continued to gain popularity, the drug agents said. It can be snorted or smoked or injected into a vein. It gives an intense high, they said, but it also has deadly consequences.
"People who smoke cocaine once are hooked," the agents said.
"You shouldn't view cocaine and marijuana differently," Kelley said. "They're both illegal. They're both harmful."
Alcohol still remains the number one drug of choice among young people, Kelley said.
The Green County United Prevention Professionals for Youth (GUPPY) conducted a Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 2007 that provided statistics about drug use in Green County, compared with the state and the nation. The survey, which was released in 2009, was given to middle school and high school students.
According to the survey, more than 40 percent of Green County teens had at least one drink of alcohol on at least one day during the past 30 days before the survey was conducted. The percentage was lower than the state average of almost 49 percent and the national average of almost 45 percent.
Kelley said society makes drinking look glamorous, and kids get caught up in trying to be with the "in crowd."People don't tend to view beer as a drug or view it as something serious, but they should, he said.
"Nearly every call that an officer responds to, particularly at night, but still even in the day time, has to do with alcohol," Kelley said.
Coming Tuesday: Young people also see more drug use.