• NEW ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
• HISTORY
• ORGANIZATION
• PURPOSE
• BOARD MEMBERS
• PAYMENT SCHEDULE
• STATISTICS
• LAST QUARTER SUCCESSES
• UPCOMING FUND RAISING EVENTS

In early 1990, the Lawton Crime Stoppers Board of Directors recognized a need to directly deal with the growing drug problem in Southwest Oklahoma. Realizing that much of the drug problems in neighboring communities spilled over into Lawton, a decision was reached to set up an independent board with a wider base of operation than the corporate city limits of Lawton. Originally, plans were to recruit community leaders from neighboring towns to sit on the Board of Directors with some leaders from Lawton. Efforts to recruit from outside of Lawton were unsuccessful but the commitment to address the growing drug problem remained.

Several Lawton leaders agreed to sit on the first board of directors with the new organization named Drug Busters of Southwest Oklahoma. Funded by a conditional grant from Lawton Crime Stoppers, sufficient money to pay early rewards was deposited in a new account. The organization applied for and received non-profit status from the IRS. They established a geographical limit that included everything in Oklahoma that was west of I-44 and south of I-40. A schedule of payments was determined and the Board incorporated and became operational on April 23, 1990. An additional telephone line was acquired with the number being 248-BUST.

Within the first month of operation, a tip was received that resulted in almost $1 million worth of marijuana being recovered. Soon, the number of calls on drug related cases was almost as much as that for other crimes that Crime Stoppers received.

Basically, "how" the organization works is very similar to that of its sister organization, Lawton Crime Stoppers. Callers are still not asked for their names or identity. However, many people realize that working narcotics investigations is very time-consuming and difficult. "Suspecting" narcotics activity, "knowing" of narcotics activity, and "proving" narcotics activity are three very separate concepts. Many calls are received where citizens suspect their neighbors of being involved in illegal narcotics activities. Most of the time this is based on the amount of people that visit the suspected residence including length of stay, time of day, and frequency. Some of the time, citizens will actually know that there is illegal activity because they have been approached to purchase narcotics or have witnessed the sale of narcotics. Often, there is still hesitancy to reveal any information that would compromise their identity for fear of retaliation. There are others who are not concerned about revealing their identity and are willing to provide information and work directly with investigators to prove their information and receive a larger reward. With these factors in mind, a sliding scale was adopted to accommodate various scenarios.

When a citizen sees suspicious activity or knows that a narcotics-related crime is being committed, they can call Drug Busters at 248-2878. To be eligible for a reward, it must come in as a Drug Busters tip and the information must result in an arrest and charges being filed in a felony case.

Once the information has been taken, the Drug Busters Investigator will assign a code number to the caller. The information will be investigated if it is sufficient to pursue. If an arrest is made, the caller must then call Drug Busters again and ask about the possibility of a reward. The caller must give their code number and may be asked questions to verify that it is the same person who called originally. When satisfied that it is the caller that provided the information that broke the case, the investigator will provide instructions about how to collect the reward.

The caller will be instructed to go to a particular banking institution to a particular drive in window. Upon arrival at the window, the caller will merely identify themselves by their code number. When the teller hears the number, the teller will then send cash money through the drive in window. The caller never has to reveal their identity nor sign any receipts. The amount of the reward varies and is set up on a schedule. The reward may be split if more than one person gave key information that helped solve the case.

If the caller wants to double their money, they can voluntarily reveal their identity and agree to testify in court about the case. 

Drug Busters has an all-volunteer Board of Directors. These directors come from all walks of life. They are mostly professional people in the community that have seen the value of promoting safer community environments by becoming involved in the Drug Busters program. Board members receive no pay for their efforts. All of the fund raising results are used for operational expenses (stationary, envelopes, stamps, telephone, etc.) and the payment of rewards (most of the money goes here).

One of the main functions of the Board of Directors is to ensure that sufficient money is available for the payment of rewards. They take this duty very seriously and are actively involved in the various fund raisers conducted throughout the year. From its inception, the Board of Directors agreed to only have one major fund raiser each year so that they would not be competing with the Crime Stoppers fund raisers. In return, the Lawton Crime Stoppers board agreed to half any fund raising results with Drug Busters. To ensure complete cooperation between the two organizations, Drug Busters agreed to help and support Crime Stoppers fund raisers and often can be seen working as volunteers at the event. Drug Busters selected the "Moonlight Walk Against Drugs" as their single fund raising event. The Drug Busters Board meets at 9:30 a.m. on the second Thursday of every month in a meeting room at the Police Station to discuss business and receive reports from the police officers assigned to the program. They ensure that the proper amount of rewards have been paid to the appropriate callers.  

The purpose of Drug Busters is to offer witnesses to a narcotic-related crime a way to provide information to help solve crimes without revealing their identity. Citizens are a key link to solving crime. They have more eyes and ears that all police officers combined. They see and hear things that often could be used to solve crimes but are afraid to say anything for fear of retaliation or other reasons. Drug Busters is a program where the information can be conveyed to the proper authorities and nobody knows who provided the information.

To encourage citizens to call in the information, rewards are offered based on a sliding scale. Many citizens call and refuse the reward. They do not want money for turning in a drug dealer but do want a safe way to reveal critical information without anybody knowing who they are. While Caller ID devices are available, Drug Busters of Southwest Oklahoma does not use them. The integrity and credibility of the program is too important to jeopardize the faith of the citizens that their identity will be protected. 

President............................Lee Sanger (State Farm Insurance)
1st Vice-President...................Bob Turner (Fox and Turner Accounting Services)
Treasurer...........................Gene Dean (City National Bank)
Immediate Past President............Mark Norman (KCCU Radio)

Board Members:
Joe Chesko (Keller-Williams Real Estate)
Barbara Ferguson (Directorate of Community Activity, Fort Sill)
Richard Goss (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation)
Jerry Hrnciar (Cameron University)
Albert Johnson (Retired from Lawton Public School System)
Dale Keesee (Directorate of Community Activity, Fort Sill)
Steve McDonald (Comanche County Memorial Hospital Memorial Pavilion)
Raymond McMurry (J.C. Penney's)
Jack Partin (Law Enforcement Command, Fort Sill)
Jennie Reno (Lawton Public Schools)
Debbie Shandy (Area Prevention Resource Center)
Dr. Richard Swales (Swales Optometry)

A special thanks to these individuals and their employers for helping make Drug Busters of Southwest Oklahoma a success. If you know any of them, please express your appreciation the next time you see them.  

The Drug Busters' Payment schedule is based on a sliding scale determined by points as established below:

Payment Schedule

Statistics for the Month of August 1997

Arrests:

Narcotics Recovered:

Rewards Paid:

Annual Statistics for 1997

Arrests:

Value of Property Recovered resulting from arrests:

Value of Illegal Drugs taken off of the streets:

Rewards Paid

With information from concerned citizens, 13 people were arrested on drug related charges from two of the most productive area investigations ever. One tip led investigators to a large field of marijuana north of Lawton in a rural area. Several law enforcement agencies responded with an eradication effort that eliminated over 250,000 marijuana plants valued at $187.5 million. The second investigation uncovered a drug ring that had been transporting large amounts of drugs across the country. Not only was over $200 million dollars worth of drugs removed from the streets, over $1.6 million dollars worth of property and cash were seized for forfeiture by the government.

Interestingly, Drug Busters will not be able to recoup any of the $5900 spent for rewards from the forfeited assets. By current law, all of these assets will be proportionately divided by the investigating law enforcement agencies. Drug Busters relies solely on money raised from its annual fundraisers and donations from corporations, businesses and citizens to pay for rewards. Please keep in mind the "Moonlight Walk Against Drugs" where the sale of T-shirts is the main fundraiser for the organization. T-shirts are only $10 and are available in sizes from "Children's Small" to "Adult 3X", regardless of size. Please show your support for Drug Busters by participating in this worthwhile event on October 8 at the Fort Sill Cedar Lakes jogging trail.  

DRUG BUSTERS' FUND RAISERS

The major fund raising event for Drug Busters of Southwest Oklahoma is the annual "MOONLIGHT WALK AGAINST DRUGS." This event produces greater citizen participation than any similar event in Southwest Oklahoma. There have been more than 10,000 walkers in each of the last 2 years. You do not have to purchase anything to participate! However, this is the event that raises the majority of reward monies for information that gets drug dealers off of our streets.

The event is held at the jogging trail around Cedar Lakes Golf Course just inside Fort Sill's Gates 3 and 4. The course is roughly 3½ miles long and is well lit for everyone's safety. The event is truly a community affair with soldiers in uniform, civilian citizens, and school children unifying in an effort to make a statement against illegal drugs in our area. Entire units from Fort Sill, complete staffs from civilian businesses, and school leaders join together to walk. Most area radio stations, television stations, and the newspaper are present to record the event. Prizes are randomly awarded to participants. Refreshments are available for purchase. Volunteers including Boy Scout troops, the Police Explorer Post, and others patrol the course to ensure no need is left unattended. Participants leave inspired that there are so many others, who like them, want drugs out of our area. Besides being good clean exercise, it is also just a lot of FUN!

This year's event will be held on Wednesday, October 7 beginning at 7:00 p.m. for young children and their parents. The ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the beginning of the walk for adults is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. just east of the golf course clubhouse. Police units from many surrounding communities line the departure point along with crossed cannons provided by Fort Sill. 

 Each year a new T-shirt design is selected. This year's composition features brilliant colors and a great design of art work by Ed Hoosier of Stanton's Witness Wear in Lawton. Business leaders, corporate executives, and concerned citizens sponsor the event by purchasing advertisement space on the back of the T-shirt for $500.00. At least 20 sponsors are needed to make this event a success. If your business or those with whom you do business are not listed, why not see if they won't support this worthy cause?

The t-shirts are then sold for a modest amount to cover the production costs. Revenue from the t-shirt sales and any excess monies from the sponsors are what pays for the rewards when callers provide information leading to the arrest of and the filing of felony charges against drug offenders. This year the cost for a T-shirt is $10.00.

WE NEED YOUR HELP to make this event another success. If you or your business can be a sponsor, call Lee Sanger, president of Drug Busters, at (580) 357-8283. If you cannot be a sponsor, please make plans to purchase a T-shirt. If you cannot afford a T-shirt, plan on walking with us in October. 

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