Meth the number one narcotic abused in Crawford County
Editor’s note: This article is the first in a short series regarding methamphetamine and the serious problem of meth abuse in Crawford County.
By Correne Martin
Ninety-five percent of the men and women in the Crawford County Jail are addicted to narcotics and alcohol. The other 5 percent are there for domestic abuse, burglary, theft and other crimes that occurred while they were under the influence of these drugs.
These figures are according to Crawford County and Prairie du Chien law enforcement officials.
“There’s an extreme drug problem in this county. It’s a very impoverished area—the unemployment rate is high and the income rate is low,” said Lt. Jaden McCullick, an investigator for the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department.
Meth is number one on the list of narcotics abused in southwest Wisconsin, and that is apparent in the latest mass of local news articles about meth busts.
“Arrests have certainly been up lately; something is happening daily,” shared Stacy Polodna, Prairie du Chien police detective. “Meth is cheap and easily accessible, and once you’re on it, it’s hard to get off it.”
“I can’t keep up with the news releases,” Police Chief Chad Abram added candidly, “and there’s more on the district attorney’s desk.”
In 2012, Prairie du Chien was referred to, among law enforcement statewide, as the one-pot meth lab capital of Wisconsin, Abram said. One-pot meth, or shake and bake meth, is also easily manufactured and, at the time, cooks could effortlessly purchase ingredients like lithium batteries, fertilizer sticks and Coleman fuel at local retail stores.
“Out of the 28 callouts for the state clandestine lab team, 18 were in Crawford County (in 2012),” Abram stated. “We made the decision to educate the businesses in Crawford County about some of the products associated with manufacturing one-pots.”
Now, people have to sign their name and provide contact information in order to purchase those products at most retailers. This has cut state clan lab callouts to only one or two a year in Crawford County.
That doesn’t mean meth usage has decreased however. Instead, more of it is being delivered into the region, according to Abram. “The majority of our crystal meth is coming from the Quad Cities or the Twin Cities, and that comes from the Mexican drug cartel,” he indicated.
Meth abuse affects an entire range of people, although the majority are middle-aged men and women who are second-generation users. “Their parents were on some kind of narcotic,” McCullick pointed out. “It’s up to them to break the cycle.”
According to Lt. Ryan Fradette, also an investigator for the sheriff’s department, a lot of the county’s investigations are centered in Prairie du Chien. But the remainder of the county is certainly not untouched by the problem. The Crawford County K9 team, Breck and his handler Officer Joe Breeser, has kept busy responding to all communities since starting a few years ago. The need for an additional K9 unit is clear as well, and that need will be met when Prairie du Chien Officer Casey Cox begins patrolling with his police dog in 2017.
Though arrests have increased, the meth abuse problem doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.
“Our job is to get these people to jail,” McCullick said. “It’s up to the court system to prosecute them.”
“When a person is convicted of possession of meth, for example, and we know the person is an addict, our options are to place that person in jail or place them on probation and order they get a drug abuse assessment with some counseling,” Circuit Court Judge James Czajkowski said. “But our county doesn’t have a social worker who is certified in drug and alcohol abuse counseling.”
Sheriff Dale McCullick added, “In the county jail, the only program for them is to wash your own damn laundry or wash a squad car. Otherwise, they’re just sitting there being a--holes.”
Nationally, the trend is not to put drug offenders in jail but to rehabilitate them. “But alcohol and other drug abuse services are very much lacking in our area,” the sheriff said.
Judge Czajkowski has spent the past two years trying to implement a drug and alcohol treatment court in the county; and though that effort will continue, it has been stifled since a large grant that would have enabled the start-up was not received.
In the meantime, authorities will keep battling the problem, investigating and arresting users and abusers.
“We have a great working relationship between the city and the county,” Abram said. “We’ll keep picking at it. Everybody wants [meth cases] solved in 60 minutes with no commercial breaks, but it takes time, manpower and money to combat the problem.” Of course, that impacts both departments’ budgets, as overtime is a big factor, as well as the cost of search warrants, gas and wear and tear on vehicles, etc.
“Most of the state funding for our departments is for traffic and alcohol issues, not meth or other narcotics,” Sheriff McCullick added.
The local meth problem is obvious to the general public and law enforcement is aware that people are concerned. There is a way citizens can help the police arrest criminals and solve crimes, and that is to be vigilant and provide detailed information about suspicious activity to officers whenever possible.
“Crime Stoppers is a good tool and it needs to be used more often,” Jaden McCullick said. “We only get about 15 tips a year.”
“Everybody has the right to live safely in their own home. We can’t just kick the door in and bust them overnight like they do on TV,” the sheriff stated, noting that, regardless of whether people are drug users or not, they still have fourth amendment rights. “We have to be able to prove it in court.”
“We often need statements and names and nobody wants to get involved for fear of retaliation,” Fradette commented. “Neighborhoods that want something done can also get together and do something about it by getting those details and providing tips.”
To do your part in addressing the meth abuse problem in Crawford County, contact Crime Stoppers with tips at 326-8933 or (866) 779-7297.
Ultimately, a solution to the problem comes down to the people who are purchasing meth, manufacturing it, using it and distributing it.
As Polodna said, “It has to start with their own want to get help, when they’re sober.”
