How to Recognize and Report Suspected Drug Activity
Posted on Mar 10th, 2020
(Adapted for Bowling Green’s Fieldstone Farms Subdivision from an article written by Lieutenant Michael Bishop of the Norristown Police Department · April 29, 2019.)
Neighbors,
Do you know how to recognize suspected drug activity in your neighborhood? Do you know how to report the activity by utilizing Bowling Green’s Crime Stoppers Hotline, the Warren County Drug Task Force, or the Non-Emergency Police Department number. Supply the information concerning the suspected drug activity and the individual selling illegal drugs. As much information as possible should be provided, i.e. license plate numbers, vehicle descriptions, time and date of activity, descriptions of subjects, etc. All calls are kept confidential.
Most illegal drug activity today is conducted by cell phone use (calls, texting, etc.) as opposed to years back when your neighborhood drug dealer would stand on a street corner to ply his or her trade. Many deals are conducted using vehicles and meet spots, mutually agreed upon by the dealers and buyers, making investigations very hard.
Drug dealers like to have a set territory that they may enforce with threats or the actual use of violence, usually gun related. Any suspected drug market has the potential for violence connected with the drug activity by either those that have ‘set up shop’ or rivals hat are intending on taking over.
A residence that has constant foot traffic or vehicles visiting for short periods of time, especially vehicles that are not familiar to the neighborhood, is one of the signs of drug activity. Buyers, who are on foot or in a vehicle, will stop at a place for short periods, sometimes minutes, then leave. Repeat customers can sometimes be recognized by neighbors that pay attention to their neighborhood.
Sometimes, there may be a spike in small thefts in and around a place where drugs are being sold, that may not be reported to police (they should be), which can be linked to drug addicts trying to get enough money for more drugs. There may also be obvious drug use by the occupants of a suspected drug seller, such as smoking marijuana openly or the odor of burning marijuana coming from the same property.
In order to properly investigate drug activity, Bowling Green Police will need the following, at a minimum, if available:
• Who is the person suspected of selling?
• Where do they live/sell the drugs?
• When is the activity most prevalent (time of day, day of week)?
• Are there any vehicles involved that the seller(s) use (make, model, color, tag info)?
• How are the deals happening (alley, inside house/apt, in vehicles)?
• What drugs are being sold?
Crime Stoppers Hotline: (270) 781-CLUE (781-2583)
Warren County Drug Task Force: (270) 843-5343
Police – Non-Emergency - (270) 393-4000
Remember, if you see something, say something!