Citizens group tackling drugs

Joe Joray can recite statistics related to the use and sale of illegal and prescription drugs in Jackson County.

According to a recent study conducted by the Indiana University Center for Health Policy, the number of Hoosiers who died from drug overdoses increased nearly 150 percent from 1999 to 2004, an increase fueled by the growing abuse of prescription medications.

"We lost 10 people in Jackson County last year to drugs, and we are on pace to exceed that number this year," the Seymour resident said.

Joray has lived through his own nightmare, losing a teenage son to an accidental drug overdose in 2005.

"A lot of people know my story," he said. "But this isn't just about me. This is about our community."

"The problem affects everyone in our county, whether simply financially, driving the same roads of those under the influence or, worse yet, on a very personal level," Joray said.

Not giving up

Joray is stepping up efforts and becoming more aggressive about drugs.

"Politicians have given up and government isn't going to make a difference," he said. "It's a community problem and the community has to become more involved."

After spending the past couple of years researching the local drug problem and following drug cases through the court system, Joray has formed a new organization - Jackson County Citizens Drug Task Force Inc.

The group is small, consisting of half a dozen local residents who share Joray's concerns about drug use and the availability of drugs in Seymour and Jackson County and who want to do something about it.

"I had people come up to me after I spoke a couple of times at different places and tell me they wanted to help do something," he said.

Task force member Sandy Hoene said her interest in the group stems from her love and concern for children in the community as well as her own three kids.

"I was a child advocate so I'm big into kids," she said. "Everybody needs to take part in what's going on and take responsibility for our kids."

At first, Joray said he had plans to have all local drug offenders' pictures and arrest information displayed on billboards so the community was better aware of who was involved in drugs and to hold those arrested more accountable for their actions.

"That just wasn't going to work because at that point I didn't realize the scope of the problem," he said. "It's a lot more extensive than that."

A ‘huge' problem

Seymour Police Chief Bill Abbott agrees drugs are a major problem in Seymour.

"It's a huge problem," he said. "We are seeing a lot more drug overdoses and deaths that are drug-related. It's also the root of the majority of crime that happens here."

Although he wasn't aware of the formation of the task force, he said he's glad to see residents getting involved in making their communities safer.
"That's something I've been trying to promote with a series of town hall meetings," Abbott said of community involvement. "I'm glad to see they are focused on the problem. I think they could potentially have an impact, but I would like to know more about them, their goals and guidelines, before I say whether it's a good thing or not."

Sharing resources

As an independent group, Joray said he doesn't want the task force to be tied to law enforcement agencies or other drug-free programs, such as the Jackson County Drug-Free Council or the Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education program. But he does have plans to work with those groups and share resources.

"For this group to be as effective as possible in the area of prevention, we would seek the knowledge of members of the Indiana State Police as well as the Jackson County Sheriff's Department. It is our intent to work in conjunction and trade resources to help battle the drug problem."

Joray said he is not involving Seymour Police Department now because of concerns he has with the department's integrity after several past personnel problems.

The announcement of the formation of the citizens drug task force also came as news to Karin Antle, executive director of Jackson County Drug-Free Council.

"I hadn't heard anything about it, so I can't really comment," she said. "I know Joe used to be involved and very active with the council."

The drug-free council is made up of community volunteers interested in alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse issues. The organization, working with the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, provides grants for drug prevention and education, intervention and treatment and law enforcement and judicial programs.

Needing help

Joray said he hopes to see membership in the new task force increase substantially in the next few weeks.

"We're asking for a lot of help," he said. "We're going to need people to help us accomplish our goals. I wanted to keep it small at first to get through the administration and organization phase, but now we're ready to get to work."

The group has met the past several months and developed a list of goals in an effort to bring more attention to those who use and sell drugs and to keep the community more aware of local drug activity. By doing this, and helping the community make changes, Joray said the task force should be able to help decrease the availability of drugs and the number of drug-related arrests and deaths in the area.

"We believe that it is time to take a different approach to this problem and impose our community standards to anyone dealing drugs in Jackson County," he said. "We intend to send a strong message that this behavior and harm they are inflicting on families of the county will not be tolerated."

Hoene said she sees the task force functioning as a watchdog group to provide the community with an overview of the drug problem.

"I see us as a checks-and-balance system," Hoene said. "For people to get a feel of what's going on and to discuss issues objectively instead of ranting and raving and getting nothing done."

Setting goals
One of the group's goals is to "make people accountable for their actions."
Joray said they plan to publish drug arrest information, including mug shots, criminal records and sentencing, in local newspapers.

"It is in our best interest to establish a standard that says, ‘if you use or deal in illegal drugs in Jackson County, you will be dealt with harshly and quickly,'" Joray said. "While being arrested for drugs used to be big news, it has become a commonplace occurrence and often accepted behavior, which makes the problem even worse. We have to put some shame to this."

Another goal is to make sure all drug offenders serve jail time.

"While we should respect the Jackson County Sheriff's Department's fiscal responsibility, our jail should be used as a source of discipline for the individuals who commit crime in Jackson County rather than rent it out to outside counties and the state to make money," Joray said. "The cost of providing very soft punishment and having the same offenses committed over and over again are costing this county much more than what they are raising in outside fees."

Hoene agreed.

"If we can get to the point where drug offenders know they aren't going to get off easy and if we can save a kid's life by doing it, then the whole community is ahead," she said.

The task force also plans to spend resources monitoring the courts to ensure fair sentences and justice are being delivered as well as working with state lawmakers to bring about change.
Joray cited a program in Ohio where convicted drug dealers have a special license plate that identifies them as drug offenders.
"This is a great possible deterrent and a form of personal responsibility," Joray said. "Individuals who deal drugs do great harm to the communities they live in and they should be identified as such."

Hoene also supports the license plate identification idea.

"At some point people have to be responsible for what they've done," she said.

Other plans for the task force include establishing a speakers bureau and creating a communitywide system to report and monitor drug activity as well as reward those who participate.

"We want to get the community more organized and focused so we aren't wasting time," Hoene said. "The task force will give people a forum to talk and come up with respective ways to report drug activity and deal with its effects on our community."

Joray said there are also plans to enlist the medical and pharmaceutical fields to help curb the growing use of and addiction to prescription drugs.

"We will seek the knowledge, counsel and guidance of professionals for establishing procedures making it more difficult to become dependent on prescription drugs, which in some cases are ending up on the street, sold illegally," Joray said.

Another issue the group plans to tackle is the use of confidential informants by law enforcement agencies.

Joray said he is against the practice and doesn't believe it helps reduce drug activity.

"The use of confidential informants needs to be curtailed because it removes the fear of getting arrested since they can just turn on someone else," Joray said. "It is common belief that if you do this you can go after the large drug dealers and limit the supplies of drugs coming into our communities. The fact is the drug problem is getting worse and this concept is failing to reduce the number of drugs entering our community.

"We believe the drug trade is very profitable and the chances of getting caught are so slim that this method of allowing people who commit crimes off for information is not serving the intended purpose," he added. "Some of these confidential informants have shown no responsibility in their lifetimes and shouldn't be given a clean slate and then put into a position where their actions could mean life or death."

Abbott, Seymour's police chief, said although no law enforcement agency wants to use confidential informants, it has become a necessary means to an end.

"No one likes using drug informants," he said. "But we would be farther out than we are in catching drug dealers without using them."

Getting involved

Joray said the task force is seeking to add members representing all aspects of the community.
"We need a good cross-section of individuals including representatives of the business, education and medical communities," he said.

As more people get involved, Joray said, new goals will be added.

Right now, volunteers are needed for a number of tasks, including researching courthouse records, serving on committees and working with lawmakers.

"That way we can formulate data so we know where we are now and then we can look for changes in the future," he said.

Hoene said she hopes the community embraces the task force and takes an active role in its mission.

"I really believe in it," she said. "Everyone needs to put their defenses down. This isn't a witch hunt. It's to help. We aren't trying to be or take away from law enforcement but they can't do it all on their own."

Joray is also seeking financial support from volunteers and the community, but he doesn't want to make fundraising a primary task.

"It is my hope that the work out of this group won't be so devoted to raising funds that we won't have ample time to work on the real problem," he said.

"An investment in this group's work will be an investment into the future of this community," he added.

How to help

Anyone wanting to support the group's efforts financially may make donations payable to the Jackson County Citizens Drug Task Force at any branch of Jackson County Bank or P.O. Box 21, Seymour, IN 47274

How to join

For information on how to join the task force, contact Joe Joray at (812) 216-3850 or by e-mail at jjoray@comcast.net