| Salt Lake City is fighting a serious methamphetamine problem, which some say will get worse before it gets better. In fact, Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) statistics indicate that more than 20 per cent of male arrestees and 31 per cent of female arrestees tested positive for methamphetamine in 1998. This places Salt Lake City among the top three ADAM sites in methamphetamine abuse. The Salt Lake City Police Department, as recipient of a Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant, has chosen to combat the local methamphetamine problem by pooling resources from a variety of agencies. Not only is this partnership large in size with more than 30 local, state, and federal agencies represented; but it is also diverse with participants from police departments, city and county attorney offices, drug courts, and social service agencies (e.g., Division of Child and Family Services). This paper outlines the strategies and the goals of this project and it's relative success in formulating a cohesive and functional group to combat the methamphetamine problem. Specifically, we examine the project implementation process, on-going relationships among partners and problem-solving techniques, and strategies to continue partnerships after federal funding ends. |
Updated 05/20/2006