— by Lin McNulty, Part Two —
As stated in Part 1 of this story, concerned with recent car prowls, and a break-in at the ferry toll booth, County Council Member Rick Hughes hosted and moderated a Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, December 10 at the Eastsound Fire Station. Sheriff Rob Nou, Deputies Doug Maya and Ray Harvey, along with Juvenile Court Probation Officer Mike Jennings were in attendance and on the panel.
Following the initial focus on car prowls, the crowd in attendance turned the discussion to ongoing concern about drug trafficking on Orcas.
Sheriff Nou indicated there is an arguable link with recent property crimes to drug use. “There is enough similarity that it is same people,” he indicated.
“We know where the drug houses are,” was a common theme from members of the audience. “Why can’t the Sheriff’s Office just go in and bust them?”
“Let’s look at bigger picture,” said one audience member, “what has been going on-island for past year or so.” She expressed concerned that the bigger picture involves an ongoing drug problem.
“Everybody knows, so why doesn’t the Sheriff’s Office?” someone asked. “Let us know what info you know,” replied Nou. “Provide specific behaviors, traffic patterns–who/what/where/when. We cannot take non-specific information and just walk into a house. All of us are smarter than any one of us.”
As Mike Jennings pointed out, “probable cause is not “I think;” It’s “I know.”
And that “I know” needs to be beyond a shadow of a doubt to withstand legal system scrutiny to obtain a search warrant. It may include testimony from nearby neighbors, and that can be a difficult decision in a small community.
Rick Hughes pointed out that the Sheriff’s Office is about to have direct policing action for Madrona Point through an agreement with the Lummi Nation, but that does not directly address the “drug houses” that are suspected of operating freely in residential neighborhoods. This situation, frustrating and frightening to neighbors, requires a concerted, cooperative effort, panel members emphasized.
The eyes and ears of the community are part of the solution are, they said; by recording license numbers, tracking times and dates of visits to the suspected drug house, the officials can investigate. Vilgilance, but not vigilantism, is the solution.
The Sheriff’s Office has an anonymous tip line whereby someone can leave a recorded message. The phone is not staffed, but is checked daily. The anonymous tip line, for messages only, is 370-7629. The Sheriff’s office advises that anonymous tips may also be left at 378-4151, in the case of an immediate situation. Anonymous tips are helpful, but a preponderance of evidence (including testimony) is necessary for conviction.
What about bringing in an undercover officer? The drug culture in small communities is a microcosm, selling only to people they know. To bring someone in from off-island to make headway is challenging, difficult, and comes with no guarantee.
What about increasing law enforcement on the island with a Reserve Deputy Program? Reserve deputies require full training and it becomes” a cost/benefit issue,” said Nou.
Known homeless/drug activity areas have been checked and rechecked by local deputies, but so far they have not been able to make contact with those living in the woods, even though they know where homeless activity has been.
Council member Rick Hughes says that he is available to receive information at any time by email at RickH@sanjuanco.com or by phone at 472-0253.
There is a common misunderstanding of the standards of proof required in various stages of a criminal matter. For an arrest or for an officer to obtain a search warrant, there need only be credible evidence sufficient to convince a reasonable person (for an arrest that person is the officer) that a crime has been committed more probably than not by a specified person. In the matter of obtaining a search warrant, that evidence must convince the magistrate or judge by that same “more probably than not” standard that evidence of a specific crime will be found in the place (or on the person) to be searched. The rules are somewhat different for mobile conveyances such as automobiles and motorcycles. The standard of evidence for conviction of a crime is that there be evidence sufficient to convince a judge or jury beyond a reasonable doubt of guilt. Beyond an reasonable doubt means admissible evidence sufficient to exclude every reasonable conclusion other than guilt. For example, a defense that Martians must have done it is not sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt. There is no standard called “beyond a shadow of a doubt.” The sheriff is right to suggest that individuals with bits of credible information provide it to his office. A aggregation of small amounts of credible data can provide sufficient basis for issuing an arrest or search warrant.
If there is no budget for more reserves how about an Auxiliary program which is far less expensive? Anacortes has a very successful one. My family lives in Anacortes and I lived there during college and they are a real presence and take some of the pressure off the officers so they can deal with more serious calls and patrols. My sister was an Police Auxiliary officer and worked in the schools and dealt with animal control issues. Auxiliary does not have law enforcement powers. It is more of a formalized neighborhood watch with in depth training.
In the US Coast Guard Auxiliary we have have all the same duties as the regular Coast Guard without the power of arrest. There are a lot of ways to help in law enforcement that can utilize well trained individuals without the expense of sending them to the academy to become commissioned officers.
Reserves with law enforcement powers or more full time officers would be the best option but there are other options. We already have a similar program with the dive team. Not all members are commissioned so act as an auxiliary force multiplier for the Department.
Just an idea.
I’d sure like to start hearing what our police CAN do and stop hearing all the reasons why they CAN’T do anything about the obvious drug houses! Merry