Casper Police

The Casper Community Facilitation Initiative:
Building Meth Free Communities, A Three Year
Progress Report

Casper, WY community blueprint

The Casper, Natrona County, Wyoming Struggle

In the early to mid 1990's, methamphetamine began to emerge as a significant illegal substance across the western United States. Western states and communities felt the impact of methamphetamine in the criminal justice systems, social service programs, treatment programs, workforce, schools, and many other areas. The most common response to the methamphetamine problem was a cry for more arrests and longer sentences but it soon became apparent that we could not arrest our way out of the problem.

While Wyoming struggled with the methamphetamine problem for many years, the issue came to a head in Casper, in the summer of 2002 when a clandestine methamphetamine lab was raided across the street from Jefferson Elementary School. The situation required that the elementary school be evacuated and some of our citizens were critical of this decision. The clandestine lab pointed out the severity of the problem in Casper and the criticism of the evacuation illustrated the lack of public knowledge regarding the dangers of methamphetamine.

Forty community and businesss leaders were invited to a luncheon at the Casper Police Department to discuss the problem of methamphetamine. The result of this meeting was the creation of the Casper Meth Initiative. Many subsequent programs were implemented from the efforts of this Initiative. While many of the programs were considerd successful, it was clear that our efforts were incomplete and needed further direction.

In the spring of 2005, City of Casper officials met with representatives of the Tate Foundation to see what could be done to address the negative impact of methamphetamine in Casper. It was determined that a comprehensive study should be undertaken to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the efforts in Casper. The Tate Foundation and the City of Casper jointly funded a study, conducted by S.J. Miller and Associated, to look at the impact of methamphetamine on our community. Stephen Miller and Dr. Diane Galloway presented their findings in Casper Community Comprehensive Substance Abuse Report, dated October of 2005. The report gave a startling assessment of the curent situation in Casper. It pointed out the strengths, weaknesses, and existing gaps in service. It was determined that a more comprehensive plan needed to be developed to address the methamphetamine problem in the Casper/Natrona County area.

Casper had previously and successfully used a Community Facilitation Initiative (CFI) process to deal with the reuse of the former Amoco Refinery properties in Casper. It was decieded to use this same process in developing a community response to methamphetamine. The Tate Foundatino again partnered with Casper/Natrona County governmental entities to fund this CFI process. Since the initial report was issued Natrona County, as well as the towns of Mills and Evansville joined in the poartnership. A project steering committee was established and a contract was signed with Business Resources Group (BRG) to facilitate the process. Interested community members were soliceited through an applicatin process in the Casper Star Tribune newspaper. Iltimately, a cross section of nineteen (19) Natrona County residents was chosen for the CFI communities.

Executive Summary

Casper had a problem. Methamphetamine was the driving force behind the rising crime rates seen in the community. The foster care system was beyond its capacity with children of methamphetamine parents. There were not enough treatment beds to handle the capacity needs for those requiring long-term residential treatment. Judges were hampered with limited treatment options in dealing with habitual drug addicts. Capser needed to develop a plan to address methamphetamine.

The identification and early intervention of substance abuse was determined to be critical to the success of any strategy. It required an aggressive, multi-media public awareness campaign to educate the public. The leaderhsip of the business community in supporting random drug testing was also essential.

The collaboration of Natrona County treatment professionals enables them to share standardized data and respond quickly to trends. It also provides judgens with assessment data prior to placement in a drug court program. The lack of long-term residential treatment beds was addressed with the construction and completeion of the eighty-six (86) bed facility at Central Wyoming Counseling Center.

Strong law enforcement efforts are apparent in the support of the Central Region Drug Enforcement Team by Casper Police Department and Natrona County Sheriff's Office with both supplying two officers to the Team. The Natrona County Drug Courts accepts both misdemeanor and felony participants. They are not hampered, however, by the lack of permanent funding at the state level.

Prevention efforts are difficult to evaluate but these efforts are coordinated through Mercer House, who works closely with the School District. The Wyoming Meth Project has saturated the media outlets with an anti-meth campaign that is research-based and targeted to teenagers.

The following accomplishments are noteworthy:

  • Over 300 local businesses now require random drug testing.
  • Methamphetamine as the drug of choice has dropped from 26% to 9 %.
  • Addiction Severity Index (ASI) assessments are done on all drug arrests.
  • An 86 bed long-term reidential treatment center was completed.
  • Treatment beds exist for three women with children.
  • Drug arrests have decreased by 16.5% in the last 3 years.
  • Burglary arrests have decreased by 28.4% in the last 3 years.
  • Federal Weed & Seed Program was awarded and operational.
  • Wyoming Meth Project - ad campagn is operational.