Are law enforcement officers really turning their back on the meth lab problem in their communities?
This letter, like many letters that have been sent to Meth Lab Homes, shows a dwindling lack of confidence that local police will address citizens’ complaints about meth.
Time for Law Enforcement to Back Up Its Citizens, Not Turn Its Back
“Last week I read in The Times (Pryor Creek, OK) that Diana Reeves lived in a peaceful neighborhood for 33 years.
Past tense.
In a house down the street, there seemed to be a lot of visitors. At first it was during the day. The visitors rapidly increased to any day and anytime. It evolved into a sort of drive up system. A car would pull over in front of the house; someone would exchange sacks and run back into the house. Then a lookout was added. After a few months of calling the sheriff, she had enough and went to the police station. No results. As any good citizen would do, she said enough and took the additional courageous step of taping the activities as well as recording vehicle license plates.Armed with some great information, she gave it to Sheriff Frank Cantey. Cantey assured her they would like to get these guys. Problem solved, results expected shortly. But over a 14 month period, only one off-duty officer stayed on her street for about 90 minutes. That’s about .00015 of 1% over the 14 month period devoted to stopping this meth house. Since the activity magically stopped during the one-time surveillance then reappeared 20 minutes after the officer left and the neighborhood NEVER had any follow up police work, one must wonder what’s actually going on. Is it deliberate indifference, other priorities (in the #1 area for pseudoephedrine sales in the state?) or something as nefarious as a Sheriff gone bad?
A cheap shot at law enforcement? I don’t think so. This could have been the scenario in any town in Oklahoma. With our top narcotics enforcement agent Darryl Weaver, calling for greater regulations on Oklahoma’s law abiding citizens instead of catching these guys, is it any wonder that bad attitude has made its way to the local level? What a lazy way to solve a problem – ignore it until it gets too big, then punish those that are playing by the rules.
The problem isn’t the medicine; the problem is law enforcement being viewed as lazy, not tenacious and slow to act.
With the police calling for citizen involvement and with Diana Reeves not only answering that call but going beyond what should be expected, and being ignored, I wonder what kind of message law enforcement sitting on its hands sends Oklahoma’s tax paying citizens and how cheerful criminals must be smiling. Let’s hope this period of law enforcement sitting on the sidelines ends soon and that good folks like Diana Reeves can go to bed at night knowing law enforcement has her back as opposed to turning their back on her and the rest of its citizenry.
Meth Lab Homes Comment:
Frankly, your accusations that law enforcement officers were remiss in their investigative duties in Pryor, Oklahoma don’t surprise me, particularly in a state that still employs tracking systems to record the sale of pseudoephedrine. As long as it’s easy for meth cooks to obtain pseudoephedrine via smurfing methods used to circumvent tracking systems, the harder it is for police departments to keep pace with the manpower and fiscal demands that meth labs bring in to communities. If Pryor law enforcement turned their backs on the meth lab problem, it may have had more to do with budget or manpower issues than anything else. Investigating and busting a meth lab is expensive – very expensive. When the federal government pulled meth lab cleanup funding from law enforcement agencies, it left many law enforcement agencies with two choices: lay off cops of ignore some meth labs.
If Oklahoma is ever going to put an end to meth labs, they will need to follow in Oregon and Mississippi’s footsteps – make pseudoephedrine available by prescription only. Tracking systems, whether paper, electronic, or real-time, have proven to be highly ineffective at keeping pseudoephedine out of the hands of meth cooks.
A prescription-only law for pseudoephedrine in Oklahoma would mean far less of it on the street which would result in a significant reduction in meth labs in Oklahoma communities. In turn, fewer meth labs in Oklahoma communities would give its law enforcement agencies more of the time and money they need to investigate the complaints and concerns of its community members.
Loading tweets...
Bee Gee
I too live over a 24/7 meth lab in NYC. I’ve been trying to get the cops to do something about it for over 2 yrs. but they ignore everything. I can’t afford to move but these people are ruining my life. When there are not caustic fumes of acids & lye & strong iodine they’re cooking it & sending it up into my apartment. The cooking fumes smell like burning plastic, burning rubber, cat urine, heavy ammonia, burning fat, curdled milk, sewage, burning garbage, exhaust fumes, ether. I woke up one morning to a bitter almond smell. First they put an acid on it then they put ether on it which got rid of it. They’ve filled the hallway with ether fumes. On Feb. 1st, the building’s sewer was on fire & the smell of heavy ammonia permeated the whole block all afternoon & eve. The fumes killed my cat & my plants. I daily buy lots of baking soda, washing soda, detergent to flush out the drains. I use many fans & use leaf blowers when they are directing their meth cooking fumes into my apartment in an attempt to stay as healthy as I can in this toxic atmosphere. Still the cops do nothing after all my complaints. They won’t be satisfied until the see people dead, an explosion or a fire. Perhaps then they’ll pay attention.
Meth Lab Homes
Bee Gee,
If the fumes killed your cats and your plants, can you imagine what those chemical contaminants are doing to you and other people in your building? You are in a dangerous environment! If the local police aren’t doing anything about it, contact your state police, attorney general’s office, the department of environmental quality in your state, the board of health, the EPA, your local newspapers, your legislators! Someone needs to do something about what’s going on in that building!
Amanda
i reported my neighbour for a suspected meth house , people coming and going all hours, the son of the homeowner going to cars mid to day to do drop offs, not to mention the horrid smell all hours of the night and early morning- i havnt been able to have my doors and windows open after a hot day in weeks. my skin under my nose is itchy, nose bleeds, dizzyness, depression, itchy eyes, — the smell is like rotting eggs, amonia and cat pee. I finally lost it and called an environmental officer to report the fumes (this is befor i witnessed the traffic outside the home) they didnt do a thing, and when they heard me say ” it smells like their cookign drugs or SOMETHING” they took it upon themselves to contact an investigator- which was good i guess. I told the investigator what ive seen- and he said it sounds like a dope house for sure and asked if he could park in my driveway- my dad said no for some reason, but he said its fine. Ive emailed the police station 2 just to ask for any new updates on the house and to send them more reports such as the fumes on what days, and what times the cars were coming and going- no reply. well last night i finally lost it and yelled ” are you guys burning something off over there, it f’ing reaks!” they shurgged their shoulders, than i hear the guy coming on my door step pounding on the door saying ” WERE NOT HAVING ANY FIRES LOOK IN YOUR YARD” and he looked high as hell, so i called the police- they come over and basically fluff it off and say we cant smell anything , i told them i had already spoken to an investigator and was told by him to not contact any environmental officers or anything- but i only called them because he came on my property and i felt uneasy. the police fluffed it off but ir reaked ! the neighbourhood was actually fogged up – and it reaked like cat piss and rotting eggs 2 blocks away= . Perhaps the investigator is watching the house and gathering information , but if he was id think the house would be busted by now, i hope i didnt ruin the investigation but maybe now they know that the smells are bugging people they’ll f off-. Im jus wondering how long does it take to bust these houses? i only have a small camera on my phone so i cant get any license plates- unless i walk by and write them down. Can anyone out there help me out- ive even called the investigator asking for any updates- no call backs, although i did read they have already done 2 busts in the area. i understand their busy its just so bad to tthe point im looking at places to move.
Meth Lab Homes
I can understand why you’d want to move. I would too! It sounds like a dangerous situation for you and everyone else who lives in that area.
I think the length of the investigation depends on what the drug investigators find out. In order to search his property and conduct a methlab bust, they need probable cause or a search warrant to enter his property. If there were odors in the air, when police arrived, I’m not a lawyer, but I believe if the police smelled that odor and identified it as a meth lab fumes coming from your neighbor’s house, that would give them “probable cause” to enter his house without a search warrant. If they believe that people are in immediate danger, I believe they could also enter his house under something known as”exigent circumstances”. Police may be hesitant to do that, however, out of concern that they could be sued, if they don’t find a meth lab inside his house. Every American, including your neighbor, is awarded protection against illegal searches by the police under the 4th Amendment. If the police violate someone’s 4th Amendment rights, they can be sued, and could face the risk of losing their job. As a result, police are often hesitant to enter someone’s house and conduct a search, unless they feel that the search will hold up in court. You might want to give the DEA a call and/or your state police to report the problem. Depending on where you live, the DEA and/or state police may be better trained to identify the smell of a meth lab than members of your local police department. You could also call the health department and ask them to check the air quality, when you smell the fumes. The more evidence you can get, in the way of witnesses and reports, the more evidence police will have to obtain a search warrant.
In the meantime, I’d stay clear of your neighbor, especially if you think he’s making and using methamphetamine. Keep yourself safe, which includes moving if you need to! The fumes from a meth lab are toxic, which can endanger your health. Additionally, a heavy meth user is unpredictable and often violent, so don’t confront them anymore. You’ve done what police advise residents to do – report meth labs. I’d keep reporting it to the police, but above all I advise you to do whatever you need to do to protect your own health and safety.
Good luck and stay safe!