There is something everyone can do to help combat the growing
problem of drugs in McKean County – pay attention.
“They can keep their eyes and ears open,” said McKean County
Detective Jerry Okerlund on Tuesday.
Okerlund and McKean County District Attorney John Pavlock, who
head the county Drug Task Force from the DA’s office, along with
Lt. Carl Milks, acting chief of police for the City of Bradford,
explained how each person can do his part to help law enforcement
address the drug problem in the county.
“They can call the police, they can call our hotline at
887-3232,” Okerlund said. “They don’t have to leave any name.”
And what should people be looking for?
“Traffic in and out of a residence at all hours of the day and
night. People going in for two or three minutes at a time and then
coming right back out … there’s probably something going on there,”
Okerlund said.
Drug activity could also be marked by a stranger staying a
residence in a neighborhood, and then a sudden increase in activity
around the residence – such as people frequently visiting but
staying only a short period of time.
“The public needs to be our eyes and ears,” Okerlund said. “They
see things we aren’t there to see.”
He referred to a recent case where tips from an alert neighbor
led police to shut down a drug operation. While Drug Task Force
officers are watching for suspicious activity, there is currently
not enough funding to assign a person to work on the Task Force
full time.
“Any information we get is beneficial. That gives us a direction
to go. Then we, as leaders of the Task Force, can attempt to assign
some people to do some surveillance,” Okerlund said.
“We definitely need the eyes and ears,” he added.
People in neighborhoods know what should be there and what is
out of place, Milks said. Police officers don’t necessarily know
that unless someone tells them.
And when someone calls in a tip, Task Force members or police
officers do pay attention – even if the person calling in the tip
doesn’t see action.
“When guys work the Task Force, they don’t wear uniforms,”
Okerlund said. “We don’t drive police cars. We might be there
already.”
It takes time to build a case, Pavlock said, time to collect
evidence. Just because it is apparent doesn’t mean there is not an
ongoing investigation.
“It’s community involvement that helps,” Pavlock said, urging
more people to pay attention to help law enforcement fight the
growing drug problem.
“We’ve been able to purchase some equipment,” Okerlund said. “We
need a lot of equipment.”
The Task Force was able to purchase a trained drug dog from the
Otto-Eldred Regional Police Department, and have it available for
use should any department need it.
“All they have to do is call us,” Okerlund said.
Drugs and alcohol are two of the biggest problems facing the
county, the detective said.
“Nobody benefits by it,” Milks said, referring to drugs.
Describing a “spider web” impact of drug use, Milks and Okerlund
explained a user gets hooked and his life spirals downward, his
family is hurt, law enforcement faces a huge problem, jails are
overcrowded, Children and Youth Services see cases with abuse or
neglect and the cycle continues.
“Everybody’s overloaded by it,” Okerlund said.
Pavlock compared fighting the drug problem to cleaning a house –
it has to be done or it will continue to get worse.
