Big Drop In Methamphetamine Arrests Police Say More Emphasis Placed On Crack Cocaine Busts In 1996

Felony arrests for methamphetamine in Spokane declined sharply last year after a record number in 1995, police said.

Officers made 165 meth arrests in 1996, down from 305 the year before, when Inland Northwest authorities were preparing for an epidemic of meth use.

The reasons for the downturn are not clear, authorities said. Fewer arrests don’t necessarily mean the drug has lost its popularity, they added.

“There are a number of things that drive those numbers,” said Lt. Steve Braun of the police department’s Special Investigation Unit.

In 1995, area law enforcement agencies formed a task force to combat methamphetamine trafficking after use of the drug - and violence associated with it - exploded in the region.

Several murders and assaults were tied to meth use that year.

The task force, which has since been disbanded, likely was responsible for pumping up arrest numbers in 1995, Braun said.

“It depends a lot on where the emphasis is,” he said.

The decrease in meth arrests contributed to a decline in overall drug arrests last year. In 1995, police made 934 drug arrests. They made 902 last year.

But felony arrests for crack cocaine in 1996 climbed to the second-highest number in the city’s history - 454.

Crack arrests declined in 1995 to 395.

Braun said his unit targeted crack smugglers last year after a spate of violence between rival gangs over lucrative markets, including West First Avenue.

Last year was the fourth straight of 300 or more felony arrests for crack in Spokane.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Methamphetamine arrests decrease