Drug task force contract renewed

(Editor’s note:  This article contains new information as of 8-20-13)

The City of Lacey has renewed its contract with the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force until 2020, and has put more cash into the force’s cash fund.

The Task Force is comprised of the Thurston County Sheriff, the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney and the police chiefs of the cities of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater, as well as the Washington State Patrol.

The Task Force conducts upper level narcotics investigations.

“They’re very efficient in high value drug cases,” said Lacey Police Chief Dusty Pierpoint.  “They can take care of cases which transcend city boundaries and they do an extremely good job.”

In renewing its Interlocal Agreement, the city agreed to contribute $25,000 per year, up from $10,000.

The Task Force is not only funded out of local department funds, but is also financed by drug seizure assets.   It shares those assets with the contracting agencies.  In 2012, the Task Force operated on a budget of just over half a million dollars with $255,000 of it from seized assets.   In addition, the work time for members is picked up by local government.

“They get quite a bit of money from seized assets, but the  amount of seized assets has declined since the legalization of marijuana,” the chief said.