ssharpJACKSBORO, TN. (WLAF) -To kill a snake, you have to cut off the head.
That is the goal of the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office Interdiction Team. The team, which is just the latest in Sheriff Robbie Goins’ advancements in the department, is already at work in the county.
By definition an interdiction is meant to disrupt something. In this case, Goins and his team plan to disrupt criminal activity within the county. Specifically, they intend to disrupt drug trafficking.
The team consists of officers throughout the department, according to Goins. From detectives to patrol to corrections officers, the entire department will be cross trained in how to spot potential criminal activity.
On a recent Friday, the team went out netting 15 citations, along with some arrests and drugs being confiscated. It was the first of many days the team plans to spend curtailing criminal activity in the community.
“This is about community safety,” Goins said.
“The first step in interdiction usually comes in the form of a traffic stop,” said CCSO Capt. John Long. When the stop is made, often for a traffic violation, officers will begin to observe the driver looking for indications of possible criminal activity. If any is detected, the person will be detained as a roadside investigation takes place.
“If you are not doing anything, you have nothing to worry about,” said CCSO Chief Deputy Matt Wasson.
But, if anything illegal appears to be happening, the CCSO will act.
“What we know is that criminal activity can take many forms,” Goins said. “Using interdiction on the roads is one way we plan to start tracking drug activity in the community.”
And while educating the CCSO and using the resources it has, Goins knows the community can ultimately benefit from all law enforcement working together. “We want to work with all the departments in the county. We all have a vested interest in stopping crime, in particular drug related crimes,” he said.
“Narcotics investigations are pro-active,” Long said. That is the goal of the newly formed interdiction team- to stop the activity before it happens.
Acknowledging that addiction crosses multiple cultural and socioeconomic lines, Goins said the department knows there are two types of addicts. The first being those caught up in the cycle of addiction that want to stop and the other being addicts who take on a criminal mindset. The latter group are the ones his department plans to “keep in check.” “What we know is that those people are dealers as well. Finding them- that’s how we cut the drugs off at the source.” (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 04/26/2021- 6AM)