Thursday, April 25, 2024
Thor, a drug-sniffing dog with the Gatesville Police Department. Courtesy GPD
Gatesville Police Chief Nathan Gohlke asked the city to put in a new narcotics detective in the budget that will cost the city $50,856 a year plus benefits.
Narcotics related calls to the Gatesville Police Department are up by 38 compared to the first two quarters of last year, with eight more arrests. Property related crime, often associated with the drug trade, is up by four over the same period, according to data provided by GPD.
It’s unclear if the upward trend, which dates back to 2019, will hold, but GPD plans on addressing it before it becomes a bigger problem later.
“Right now we do what we can to stop what we can, but we can only do so much with what we have.” Chief Gohlke said in a phone interview Monday. “We are not going to get a grasp on the problem until we get people in the right places to work it.”
The city used to have a narcotics detective but the position was made into a regular detective over a decade ago when call volumes increased. The department got a drug-sniffing dog this year and the hope is a dedicated narcotics detective can be another way to address increasing drug-related crimes.
“We don’t have a formal detective that is able to work confidential informants, tips that come in, and the bigger cases,” Gohlke said. “It limits our capabilities of handing the drug related crime we have in Gatesville.”
If the item makes it through the budget process the new detective would be a compliment to the patrol division. The detective will be able to process information gathered by patrol, follow up on tips and work with other agencies on bigger cases. They would also be able to set up confidential informants and work low-level street dealers.
“It’s not going to stop the drug market from happening but it will certainly help us to do a better job of enforcing and getting a better handle on it,” Gohlke said.
The city council will have the final say on funding this new position. The next public forum on the city budget will be Aug. 10 at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers.
