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GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — A regional study of methamphetamine use and related crimes is under way that will help quantify the problem in Garfield County. Results will also direct the efforts of a newly formed task force headed up by the District Attorney's Office.
Students from Grand Junction's Mesa State College are combing through court records in Mesa, Delta, Garfield and Montrose counties to determine just how much the courts are impacted by meth. The data will be used by the task forces to determine the extent of the meth problem, said Assistant District Attorney Jeff Cheney. Data collected from court records and interviews with jail inmates will identify the frequency of meth-related crime in the counties.
Monday, the Garfield County commissioners voted to contribute $2,200 to the study. The District Attorney's Office has already contributed $800. Cheney has also applied for a $3,000 El Pomar Foundation grant to fund the study.
"There's ample anecdotal information that it's a problem here, but we don't have empirical data," Cheney said.
Cheney estimated 50 percent of the cases in felony court in the 9th Judicial District, which encompasses Garfield, Pitkin and Rio Blanco counties, "have meth as an ingredient."
Michael Gizzi, associate professor of criminal justice and political science at Mesa State, who is in charge of the study, said meth-related crime in Mesa County is about 86 percent of the felony cases that come up in District Court.
Gizzi's students will provide data and analysis "to measure the impact of meth on the criminal justice system and the community in general," he said.
In Mesa County, students have interviewed people sentenced to community corrections, an alternate sentencing to jail time for nonviolent crimes that allow them to work during the week. The same approach is planned for Garfield County.
"We've identified people who have tested positive for meth in residential programs," Gizzi said.
The students will also collect data from court records in the four counties for 2004 and 2006, including crimes committed by meth users beyond possession.
In Mesa County, "We've found a large number property crimes committed by meth users," Gizzi said, such as breaking and entering and theft, and financial crimes such as identity theft and forged checks.
His group will also work with local hospitals and departments of social services, which also see the fallout from meth use.
Cheney said the task force currently includes local law enforcement departments, and county public health and social services departments. But he hopes to expand it to include stakeholders from the community.
"We need to be educated (about meth)," said Commissioner John Martin, of approving the money for the task force. "There isn't ... a person who isn't a stakeholder. It affects everyone. There isn't a place it doesn't touch."
Cheney said the task force also plans to ask the energy industry for funding.
While there is a perception that meth began to be a problem in the region when the oil and gas industry took off, Gizzi said it's not a straightforward link between the two.
"I think there is a correlation, but I don't think the industry brought it. Meth was already here," he said, and it's grown to epidemic proportions.
Contact Donna Gray: 945-8515, ext. 16605
dgray@postindependent.com
Post Independent, Glenwood Springs Colorado CO
Students from Grand Junction's Mesa State College are combing through court records in Mesa, Delta, Garfield and Montrose counties to determine just how much the courts are impacted by meth. The data will be used by the task forces to determine the extent of the meth problem, said Assistant District Attorney Jeff Cheney. Data collected from court records and interviews with jail inmates will identify the frequency of meth-related crime in the counties.
Monday, the Garfield County commissioners voted to contribute $2,200 to the study. The District Attorney's Office has already contributed $800. Cheney has also applied for a $3,000 El Pomar Foundation grant to fund the study.
"There's ample anecdotal information that it's a problem here, but we don't have empirical data," Cheney said.
Cheney estimated 50 percent of the cases in felony court in the 9th Judicial District, which encompasses Garfield, Pitkin and Rio Blanco counties, "have meth as an ingredient."
Michael Gizzi, associate professor of criminal justice and political science at Mesa State, who is in charge of the study, said meth-related crime in Mesa County is about 86 percent of the felony cases that come up in District Court.
Gizzi's students will provide data and analysis "to measure the impact of meth on the criminal justice system and the community in general," he said.
In Mesa County, students have interviewed people sentenced to community corrections, an alternate sentencing to jail time for nonviolent crimes that allow them to work during the week. The same approach is planned for Garfield County.
"We've identified people who have tested positive for meth in residential programs," Gizzi said.
The students will also collect data from court records in the four counties for 2004 and 2006, including crimes committed by meth users beyond possession.
In Mesa County, "We've found a large number property crimes committed by meth users," Gizzi said, such as breaking and entering and theft, and financial crimes such as identity theft and forged checks.
His group will also work with local hospitals and departments of social services, which also see the fallout from meth use.
Cheney said the task force currently includes local law enforcement departments, and county public health and social services departments. But he hopes to expand it to include stakeholders from the community.
"We need to be educated (about meth)," said Commissioner John Martin, of approving the money for the task force. "There isn't ... a person who isn't a stakeholder. It affects everyone. There isn't a place it doesn't touch."
Cheney said the task force also plans to ask the energy industry for funding.
While there is a perception that meth began to be a problem in the region when the oil and gas industry took off, Gizzi said it's not a straightforward link between the two.
"I think there is a correlation, but I don't think the industry brought it. Meth was already here," he said, and it's grown to epidemic proportions.
Contact Donna Gray: 945-8515, ext. 16605
dgray@postindependent.com
Post Independent, Glenwood Springs Colorado CO
