HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A day after Hutchinson Police Chief Jeff Hooper announced he was pulling out of the Drug Enforcement Unit because it was a “reactive” approach to crime, Sheriff Randy Henderson let his feelings be known. He explained why he believes the DEU is vital to drug crime in the city.
Henderson started his career in the DEU from 1988-1997. “I know the drug culture not only here but throughout parts of the world making cases connected to Mexico and Belize,” Henderson said in a statement. “We had connections with meth labs in Escondido, CA, dealers from Snohomish, WA, gang members from L.A., Denver and Wichita, to name only a few. You can’t totally work drugs in a geographical area.”
Henderson says you need to catch the outside influence coming in and not just sit on potential drug dealers in the community. “They come in from all over the place and it’s why we have people working with Wichita, KBI, DEA, etc., even some undercover,” Henderson noted. “You need to have people in the weeds so to speak. No, it’s not flashy and doesn’t get daily or weekly headlines, but when it breaks loose, like the three-year investigation in Riley County recently, it does make an impact.”
Henderson says it’s like medicine, you don’t know how sick you would be without taking it. We don’t know what the drug flow into our community would be like if our guys weren’t out there working with other agencies, disrupting shipments and making buys. “I remember back in the early ’90s when our president dressed down the Mexico president, saying they needed to stop the traffickers from bringing drugs into America. The Mexican president said that would only happen when the Americans quit desiring the drugs,” Henderson said.
Henderson did want to stress that the approach the HPD is taking is positive. “Don’t get me wrong, HPD officers are doing great work and it’s a welcome change from the past, and I am proud of them and the chief’s leadership,” Henderson stressed. Henderson still stressed the need to work on the bigger picture.
One area that caused some issues was a gap in communication when the new approach by the HPD began. Henderson said that a lack of communication could cause both law enforcement agencies to be “sitting on a house” for two very different reasons. One for a local arrest and one where the DEU may be looking for a bigger fish in the case. Henderson says the work between the two agencies is good now.
Henderson also wanted to stress that, while the crime numbers are down, some of the reasons for the drop is because of programs within the Reno County Correctional Facility. “Some of your stats could be connected to the programs in the jail, Oxford House and New Beginnings,” Henderson said. “This is the group taking the desire away for the drugs and helping cut down on crimes as well.” In January through March of 2018, jail numbers were at 204 inmates a day average. For the first quarter of 2019, the numbers are down to 176. “I know all of that drop is not due to what the correctional facility is doing,” Henderson noted. “But we have graduated 22 inmates from the GED program and 14 of those have never returned to jail.”
Henderson says that drug crime reduction has to be a team effort and feels they are covering a necessary area that needs attention.