REGION: Dozens targeted in meth sweep; more sweeps to come

By TERI FIGUEROA tfigueroa@nctimes.com
July 14, 2011 10:15 pm

A couple of dozen methamphetamine users in San Marcos found themselves targeted in a law enforcement sweep Thursday, the first of a number of such sweeps coming to North County by year's end, authorities said.

The sweep was part of an operation dubbed Tip the Scale, which includes a chance for drugs users to sit down ---- if they want to ---- with treatment professionals before being sent to jail for the night.

"It's not a get-out-of-jail-free card," said Capt. Mike Barnett, who leads the San Marcos Sheriff's Station.

Once in custody, suspects could meet one-on-one with drug-abuse counselors who could help them get treatment and stay on track with court-ordered programs. It's a chance to talk to the drug users while they were vulnerable, sitting in handcuffs and knowing they were headed to jail, authorities said.

Thursday's sweep by a multiagency team of more than 100 uniformed officers, probation officials and treatment professionals marked the ninth such sweep since authorities kicked off the Tip the Scale program in 2009.

Some 89 known meth users were targeted in the sweep, Barnett said. A few hours into the sweep, preliminary numbers showed that about two dozen people were arrested, and a little more than half of them agreed to meet with drug-treatment providers for a few minutes.

Those targeted are not drug dealers but low-level users, many of whom commit property crimes such as theft to fund their drug habit, Barnett said.

Authorities said they have seen anecdotal evidence indicating that Tip the Scale is a success. The first three months after five back-to-back operations in East County saw property crimes fall at greater rates than elsewhere in the county in the same period.

Authorities credit the drop to the meth arrest sweeps, because the sweeps came close in time and in the same region. Three more sweeps followed in different parts of the county, including one in Vista last October. But the one-time sweeps did not come with the same drop in property crime.

So back to targeting regions. Next up: North County.

"We have events planned in Escondido and Encinitas," Barnett said. "And there will be others."

On Thursday, dozens of officers surprised known meth users with knocks on their doors. Officers caught one woman trying to flush drugs down the toilet, Barnett said. Many of the people arrested during the sweep tested positive for methamphetamine, including one teenager who just hours earlier had tested clean during a planned drug test at the probation office.

One by one, law enforcement officers escorted suspects ---- in handcuffs ---- into the San Marcos Sheriff's Station for their 15 or so minutes with a treatment provider.

The counselors hoped to use the brief time to get them thinking about sobriety, said Francisco Medrano, a treatment provider with San Diego County's Probation Department.

Aside from the arrests, three children were taken into protective custody, authorities with the Meth Strike Force said.

Call staff writer Teri Figueroa at 760-740-5442.

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