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Clandestine Lab Reporting by Patti Gosch |
April 2000 |
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Clandestine lab reporting was much improved in 1999. The year-end due date was extended from January 15, 2000 to the 25th, and at that time 554 cards had been received at Northwest HIDTA. All cards received after that time will be tallied as ‘real count’ in the final reporting to WSIN. Regardless of deadlines, continue to send in unreported cards. These will be added to the intelligence database to be cross-referenced for conspiracy group identification. Some areas of the cards were consistently not filled out. The missing information helps to identify trends, which have already taken place in other parts of the country. Such information will help in proactive interception and prevention. All areas are important; the information received is presented to the Legislators, which translates to funding. Many entries listed the facility impound yard as the lab location. Although the search warrant was served while the vehicle is at this location, this is not considered as the lab site, rather the location should be the place that the vehicle was seized (milepost, street block, cross street). There are two reasons for this. The location where the vehicle is seized may later be associated with a lab seizure from a nearby location, possibly across county lines, and may also show a common route for transportation. The second reason is that when the final report is sent to Washington DC, the literal analysis of such a report would show that our agency properties have a lab production problem. Although filling out the cards is time consuming, the end reward is additional/continuous funding, and legislative assistance to support law enforcement efforts in the war on drugs. Keep up the good work. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions regarding clandestine lab card reporting, please contact Patti Gosch at (888) 388-3784 or by e-mail at pgosch@nw.hidta.org. Inside this issue: |