City of Salisbury to crackdown on drug distribution

Cracking down on drug distribution channels. That’s the plan in Salisbury where additional officers will reportedly work to gather intelligence on where illegal drugs are coming from and then act to cut them off.

“We are going to work diligently to address criminal activity, the use of drugs, and the distribution of drugs,” Mayor Jake Day tells 47 ABC, “What we’re not gonna do is take advantage of people who are in very difficult situations.”

We’re told the scope of drug investigations in Salisbury is set to expand, with more officers, deeper investigations and more search warrants that will be able to be executed.

Those increased patrols started when city council finalized the 2015 budget as tax increases allowed for 15 new positions, five as a result of departmental reorganization and 10 completely new positions.

Now that those posts are close to being filled by police academy graduates, the police department says it is ready to fight drug distribution in full force.

Salisbury Police Chief Barbara Duncan says, “You’re going to see a lot more officers out there. We’ve been hearing a lot about foot patrol, bike patrol, and the high demand for that type of policing in all of our neighborhoods, and now we’re finally in a position where you’re gonna start seeing a lot of that.”

“What that looks like is more officers on the street, more officers in CID, more officers who are able to investigate crime,” added Day.

Just because there will be more officers policing the streets of Salisbury doesn’t mean the department won’t need community cooperation.

We’re told that recently community input has led to positive results.

“We really depend on a lot of information flow coming in from the people who live in our neighborhoods and work in our businesses,” said Duncan.

She says if you see anything suspicious, give the department a call (410-548-3165) or contact crime stoppers (410-548-1776).