DROP A DIME, MAKE A GRAND

Mumpower Launches Cash-Rewards Program To Fight Drugs

A new program to fight street drugs in Asheville is offering cold cash
to folks who finger local drug dealers, but some salient details on
the inner workings of the program remain vague.

"We're providing money up front," proclaimed Asheville City Council
member Carl Mumpower, the driving force behind both the recently
formed Asheville-Buncombe Drug Commission and its reward plan, in an
interview with Mountain Xpress. The plan is part of a multifaceted
antidrug effort Mumpower is hoping to launch; other parts of it
include poster campaigns and an as-yet unscheduled best-practices
seminar on fighting drugs in the community.

At a Dec. 2 press conference held in front of the Asheville Police
Headquarters, Mumpower unveiled reward posters that read, in part:
"Our streets just aren't safe anymore, for drug dealers." Flanked by
Chief William Hogan and surrounded by local news reporters, Mumpower
called the occasion "the beginning of our effort to fight back
together." (He had previewed the posters, which were printed for free
by the Asheville Citizen-Times, at the Nov. 15 City Council work session.)

Dubbed the "Dealer Down" program, the reward offer is intended to give
people an extra incentive to turn in drug traffickers. "Anyone that
can help us arrest a drug dealer with a large quantity -- anything
over a half kilo, which is roughly a pound -- of crack, meth or some
of these other hard drugs, we are going to immediately provide them
with $1,000," Mumpower told the small crowd bundled against the bitter
cold. An equivalent amount would be awarded in the event of a
conviction, he said.

"That's unusual, because [with] most reward programs, people have to
wait until there's an arrest and a conviction," he added. "We're going
to give them some immediate money for trying to help us."

Hogan, too, voiced support for the program, noting that it targets
quantities of drugs sufficient to trigger federal charges -- and,
therefore, longer sentences for dealers. The contact number listed on
the posters (259-5692) belongs to the Police Department's
drug-suppression unit. But Mumpower cautioned in comments to Xpress
that it would take more than just a phone call to get a reward, though
he did not specify just what sort of cooperation might be required for
an arrest to qualify for a reward.

Mumpower has remained equally vague about where the money will come
from, though he has said it would be made up of private donations, not
city funds. He did say that it is his responsibility to find the
needed funds, and he indicated that money is available now if someone
comes forward with information in the near future. But he's remaining
mum on just who is ponying up the dough, saying only, "Someone at the
table has guaranteed that we'll cover what we have to cover."

At press time, the Drug Commission had yet to set up a system for
handling and accounting for the funds. Mumpower says he will look to
other seasoned organizations, such as Crime Stoppers, for ideas and
assistance.

The program also needs volunteers to put up posters and educate the
community, according to Mumpower. The commission meets for one hour a
month, he said, adding, "These are pretty serious men and women who
don't have a lot of time."

The 19-member commission includes health experts and representatives
from law enforcement and other local government bodies, including the
Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. Mumpower formed the group in
August, then sought and received the endorsements of City Council, the
Board of Commissioners and several local civic groups and
institutions.

From its inception, the commission was designed to be independent
of government influence, which Mumpower says will enable it to make
progress without getting bogged down by bureaucracy and politics.

"If you put it under the auspices of the city, then they can control
it," he explains. At the same time, however, the various endorsements
might provide the commission with access to resources that Mumpower
said he intends to tap when he can. For example, the city's Public
Information office sent out e-mails announcing Mumpower's press conference.

"We're all looking for ideas to go at this from every angle we can,"
says Mumpower.