By Lori Ehde
Police work is a delicate balance between getting the bad guys and preserving the privacy of law-abiding citizens.
As drugs, particularly methamphetamines, grow in popularity, Rock County law enforcement officers find themselves increasingly making difficult decisions about search and seizure.
"What you see on TV is a lot different than real life," said Rock County Deputy Jeff Wieneke.
As more and more local families are affected by drug use, theyÕre often frustrated by what they perceive as slow police response or none at all.
Wieneke said following tips and making arrests aren't as easy as they may seem.
"It's a big step to get a search warrant and go into someone's house," said Wieneke, who's been investigating the local drug scene for 12 years.
"It's a big intrusion to go into someone's house, so you want to get it right."
Assistant Rock County Attorney Terry Vajgrt helps officers fill out paperwork required in an application for a search warrant.
"The process begins as most things do with the Constitution," Vajgrt said. "It's our Fourth Amendment that says people will be free of unreasonable search and seizure, and authorities have no right to search your home unless a judge finds probable cause to believe criminal activity is occurring in the home."
In most cases, the evidence has to be quite clear for a warrant to be issued.
"When law enforcement gets information, what they need is specific information, as opposed to general suspicions," Vajgrt said.
"If someone calls and says 'Joe Blow on Warren Street is selling drugs to kids, they need to have seen it happen and witnessed drugs."
Wieneke said most warrants heÕs applied for require more than one witness to corroborate a report.
He remembers a case in Pipestone where a warrant was executed in a home of innocent residents after a family member concocted a criminal report out of revenge.
"We hear all the time that 'So-and-so is dealing drugs and why aren't they in jail?' While we take these tips seriously, we also need to be careful to protect people's rights," Wieneke said.
Once the appropriate paperwork is filled out, it takes the approval of a judge to put the wheels in motion.
Of the 11 full-time officers on hand, Wieneke is most often called on to execute warrants in drug cases.
When asked if the local drug problem has reached "epidemic proportion," Wieneke said the meth problem is getting serious, but he compares todayÕs problems to those of the 1960s.
"To me, it was probably worse then, but it's hard to compare," he said.
Rock County doesn't have a drug officer or drug enforcement task force, but he used to serve on the regional task force when it existed, and he and Deputy Ken Baker have special training with the Emergency Response Entry Team.
Wieneke said drug investigations need to be worked into other demands on the job, and he agrees with the general local perception that Rock County needs to hire more law enforcement officers.
"My personal opinion is that we do need another officer," he said. "I would like to see one guy dedicated to drug enforcement."
Burglaries are a byproduct of drug use in communities, and Wieneke said residents are quick to criticize police work in that area as well.
Specifically, he's often asked about investigative procedures and why local officers don't collect fingerprints at many crime scenes.
"We do sometimes dust for fingerprints, but it's hard to get a usable fingerprint. It's pretty much a science in itself," Wieneke said.
"We're doing a lot of things in our investigations that people don't know about."
According to the County Attorney's Office, the Rock County Sheriff's Office has executed 10 search warrants in the past 12 months. Eight were drug-related and two were for weapons.
Solving local crimes - particularly drug-related incidents - is a deliberate process that requires patience, both on the part of officers and witnesses.
"We appreciate any information we can get, even if it is only hearsay. Most of the cases we crack are because of information from the public," Wieneke said.
"But they also need to be patient with us. There's nothing we want more than to solve all crimes, but it's just not going to happen all the time."
Vajgrt agreed that the best chance for justice to prevail is when everyone works together.
"The bottom line is the better the communication between the public and law enforcement, the better it is that we can respond to the drug problem in this county," he said.