Sergeant Steve Marshall says his job is to protect the town and that is exactly what he intends to do.
“We have a good idea of who is who, and we’re pretty confident we know most of the people who are dealing drugs in this town,” Sgt Marshall said.
“People are more than happy to tell me what they know.”
All of Corowa’s police force are now trained and able to conduct new, more sophisticated roadside drug tests.
Sgt Marshall said most dealers were also users so with enough information, he could pull drivers over to test for methamphetamines, cocaine and cannabis.
“With these new drug kits for sampling drivers, we can attack dealers through their car,” he said.
“If there is any indication if they are positive, they are suspended for 24 hours and we send the samples to Sydney for analysis.
“Then we ramp up surveillance on that vehicle.”
Most police work involves three things: prevention, response and disruption.
Prevention includes education and community engagement, and response is to calls to attend an incident, which Sgt Marshall said takes up most of the work.
“Disruption is the big one,” he said.
“Ice (methamphetamines) is a scourge on society; it’s infuriating for me.
“Corowa is a great town, and we all need to take ownership of everything that happens.”
Anyone with information about drugs in the town can call Sgt Marshall confidentially on 6932 2899 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
19°C