[Adopted at time of adoption of Code[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II.
A. 
Prior to the formation of the York County Drug Abuse Strike Force, the coordination of enforcement efforts was haphazard and ineffective as a result. Existing drug enforcement agencies operated virtually independently from one another, and no single person or entity exerted influence on the effort as a whole to coordinate activities. As drug use and drug trafficking spread into areas of York County not previously affected, local police were ill-equipped and ill-informed on methods of dealing with the problem.
B. 
County-wide, the incidence of drug offenses was increasing at an alarming rate. Unfortunately, the level of enforcement activities and the number of enforcement personnel did not keep pace with the rate of increase of offenses. Prior to the Strike Force, there were only two full-time drug investigators (members of the York City Police Department) working in York County. They were supplemented by the Vice Unit of the Pennsylvania State Police Troop H, a total of six troopers, who cover, in addition to York County, five remaining counties which comprise Troop H.
In an effort to coordinate the law enforcement effort in York County in the fight against drugs, a specialized unit, the York County Drug Abuse Strike Force, was established in the York County District Attorney's Office in January 1988.
A. 
The Strike Force is responsible for coordinating drug-related prosecutions, consulting with the law enforcement community regarding drug enforcement laws and providing Police Departments with updated information regarding prosecution policies and procedures.
B. 
Specifically, the Strike Force has the following objectives:
(1) 
To increase arrests and convictions of drug offenders and drug dealers through the development of a centralized structure to direct the apprehension, prosecution, conviction and sentencing of these individuals.
(2) 
To increase covert investigations through the involvement of the specialized unit.
(3) 
To increase the amounts of cash and vehicles and the value of street drugs seized through the use of covert investigations and more sophisticated electronic surveillance equipment.
(4) 
To improve interorganizational communication and drug law enforcement knowledge by providing all Police Departments with updated information on laws, arrests and procedures.
(5) 
To coordinate drug-related investigation and prosecutions by establishing a position within the District Attorney's office primarily responsible for handling drug-related prosecutions.
(6) 
To coordinate and to fund, in conjunction with the York City Police Department, the School Program to Educate and Control Drug Abuse (SPECDA).
Since the inception of the Strike Force, enforcement efforts have been coordinated by the Special Deputy Prosecutor (SDP) and the Drug Law Enforcement Coordinator (DLEC). The District Attorney's Office has become the center of drug enforcement activities. State and local officers stop by the office almost daily to advise the DLEC of current activities and to seek assistance and advice from the SDP. Both the DLEC and SDP accompany officers on many in-the-field operations, providing additional manpower and information resources.
In 1988, the York City Police Department and the Northern York County Regional Police Department both added a full-time narcotics officer to their Departments. Both of these officers were added to the SDP and the DLEC. In October 1989, a full-time County Detective was hired to work in the area of drug law enforcement and drug education. A total of 90 municipal police from throughout the county's 31 Departments have been sworn in as Special County Detectives, providing them with county-wide jurisdiction for drug enforcement activities. These personnel are used as additional manpower becomes necessary for service of search warrants, surveillance activities, major roundups of drug offenders and related drug enforcement activities. They work under the auspices of the District Attorney through the Drug Law Enforcement Coordinator. Training for these officers was provided through a full-day seminar provided by the District Attorney's office and the Strike Force in April 1988. A full forty-hour drug investigation school was held in November 1988 for officers to augment their skills. This investigation school was jointly sponsored by the York County Drug Abuse Strike Force and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Narcotics Investigations and Drug Control.
The coordinated effort of the Strike Force has resulted in the following accomplishments:
A. 
Drug trafficking and drug-related arrests in York County have increased 99% from 1987 to 1989.
B. 
Forfeiture to date:
(1) 
One hundred twenty-seven thousand sixty dollars and ninety-six cents in 1988 and one hundred thirty-nine thousand sixty-five dollars and twenty-nine cents ($139,065.29) in 1989 in cash.
(2) 
Eight thousand eighty dollars in 1988 and $14,010 in 1989 in property other than vehicles.
(3) 
Seventeen vehicles in 1988 and 18 vehicles in 1989.
A. 
From these proceeds, funds have been supplied to state and local police agencies for drug investigative purposes, and presently eight vehicles are being supplied from the 35 for undercover investigations.
B. 
Initially, funding for the Strike Force came from a grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) for a period of three years. These funds will expire in December 1990. The grant primarily covers the salaries and benefits of the Strike Force staff and is set up in such a way that it covered 75% of those costs in 1988 and 1989 and 50% of those costs in 1990.