July 16--CLINTON -- One of the Sampson County Sheriff's Office's most effective crime-fighting tools may be in jeopardy, the sheriff says.
It's the Criminal Interdiction Team, a five-deputy and two-canine unit that spends its days and nights patrolling the county's roadways.
This crime-busting team does more than look for speeding drivers or expired vehicle registration tags or inspections, although that's part of their job, Sheriff Jimmy Thornton said.
These deputies have received specialized training to help them look for signs that someone they've stopped for a traffic violation may be up to something more sinister.
"Not everybody can do this job," said Sgt. Robert Stroud, the CIT supervisor.
But with a tight budget projected for fiscal 2013, which began July 1, the Sampson County Board of Commissioners is looking to cut costs to keep from raising the tax rate.
The commissioners have been unable to reach a consensus on a budget and are scheduled to meet Tuesday to try again to come up with a plan.
The CIT has been funded through the Governor's Highway Safety Program since it was formed.
During a workshop earlier this month, Commissioner Jarvis McLamb made a motion to make financial cuts in several areas. That included a recommendation to do away with the Governor's Highway Safety Program and reassign the personnel to courtroom security duties, according to meeting minutes.
The motion didn't pass, the minutes show. But a compromise motion, which called for keeping the CIT intact, deadlocked in a 2-2 vote.
McLamb and Commissioner Albert Kirby voted against the measure.
In a phone interview last week, McLamb said he was not targeting the CIT, but offering a suggestion.
McLamb said his concern is Thornton "is spending too much money."
"Anything he asks for, he seems to get," McLamb said. "His employees don't get raises because he spends the money on other things."
In fact, McLamb said, he believes that the CIT is acting only on information provided by state and federal authorities.
"They relay the information and you (the CIT) can pick them up," McLamb said.
Kirby, also in a phone interview, said he believes that all department heads need to look at making cuts and reducing their spending.
Kirby said he did not agree with any plans to do away with the CIT.
"I would never propose to tell the sheriff how to run his department," Kirby said.
"My personal feelings, when it comes to crime, I detest it, I abhor it. It's something I would never, in any way, stand in the way of progress."
Kirby said his issue stems from Thornton's request for a data computer system.
"I requested this to bid out pursuant to state bid laws," he said. "This has not been done, and I take issue to that."
Enforcement economy
The same qualities that make Sampson County attractive to business endeavors lure criminal enterprises, law enforcement officials say.
The county is centrally located among the military communities of Fayetteville, Goldsboro and Jacksonville, as well as Raleigh, the state's fastest-growing city.
It has one interstate, I-40, which offers an easy drive to the port city of Wilmington. And, its north-south highways are more rural and less heavily patrolled than I-95.
To the eye of a criminal, it could be 963 square miles of paradise.
"It's easier to hide in the woods than the city," Stroud said.
CIT deputies are trained to look for cues that might not be picked up by regular-duty deputies, he said.
Those cues may result in the arrest of people trafficking drugs, stolen property or illegal weapons in or through Sampson County, the sheriff said.
It makes sense, Thornton said, when studies have shown that vehicles are used in or linked with 95 percent of crimes.
Since its formation in 2005, the team has made more than 1,100 felony and misdemeanor drug arrests, Thornton said.
The team has arrested or located 216 fugitives, filed 400 charges for property-related offenses and seized 106 firearms.
CIT members have arrested 324 drunken drivers and issued more than 8,000 tickets for driving while license revoked, no operator's license and violations involving alcohol, registration and failing to have insurance.
The CIT also has, since 2005, seized 510 pounds of cocaine worth at least $23.1 million; 319 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $1.4 million; and heroin valued at $562,500.
Team members have uncovered seven methamphetamine labs and seized $524,745.
"With this proactive team in place, a strong message is being sent: That the Sampson County Sheriff's Office will not tolerate criminal activity," Thornton said.
For now, Thornton and his deputies, especially the CIT, are waiting to see what will happen.
Even though the unit appears to be safe for now, that could change.
"Having these five guys and two dogs are our only means of being proactive," Sheriff's Office Capt. Eric Pope said.
"If we didn't have this team, the deputies would be doing back-to-back calls. The days of routine patrol are over."
Staff writer Nancy McCleary can be reached at [email protected] or 486-3568.
Copyright 2012 - The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.
