Reid tours new police training facility

Although he arrived in a nondescript Buick and had an entourage of only three people, Sen. Harry Reid's status was apparent when he arrived at the Metropolitan Police Department's new training facility at 9800 W. Cheyenne Road.

The purpose of Reid's April 19 visit was to tour the 3-month-old center with James Varey, chief of police for the Capitol Hill police force. The facility and its training methods will be models when the Capitol police build their own training center at an abandoned military site 20 minutes outside Washington, D.C. Reid has a personal interest in the United States Capitol Police as he was once an officer with them, back when he attended law school.

The tour caught police cadets by surprise. A classroom of about 50 students (two of them females) were in the middle of a lesson on determining if someone was under the influence of tranquilizing substances, when Reid walked to the front of the room. All eyes blinked in recognition and cadets immediately sat up a little straighter.

"We were just about to go on to the next lesson and learn about stimulants," the instructor said with a chuckle.

Reid addressed the class and told them why the Capitol Police were there. He praised the cadets and spoke one-on-one with a few. When he left, the cadets jumped to their feet in unison and shouted goodbye with military precision. Reid said seeing the class was, for him, the highlight of the visit.

During the tour, Keller commented on subjects such as efficiency, chain of command, shift scheduling and how the courts are bottlenecked. He also mentioned aspects of training shown in posters that lined the walls.

"That's one of the best things we've done," he said, tapping a poster on a tough physical fitness program he implemented. ("Actually, we do a lot of things that are the best things we've ever done," he said later. "As long as it's within budget, within policy, ethical and legal, I'm all for it.")

In the briefing room, Officer Cord Overson was called over to shake hands with Reid. Later, when Overson was asked what the senator could do on Capitol Hill to make his job better, he answered without hesitation -- find money for more officers. Overson said now police officers ride alone in patrol cars and "saturating" areas would decrease crime.

The need for additional police officers was a topic Reid kept referring to -- and often in the same breath with President Bush's budget cuts. He was concerned about money to continue HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas), which puts more officers on the streets.

"I was working so hard to get Nevada designated as a HIDTA and then it (funding) was cut," he said.

Statistics from the Office of National Drug Control show there were 5,093 drug violations in Nevada during 1997, the latest data available, with 932 of those involving offenders under the age of 18. In Las Vegas, 56.8 percent of male arrestees and 70.3 percent of females arrested tested positive for drugs during 1998. Reid called Las Vegas one of the "high centers for meth production."

Though Reid said he supports interdiction to combat drugs, treatment for addicts needs more attention. "We focus too much on arresting people. We're not spending enough money on treatment, he said."

Police gang statistics show an increase in the number of gangs, from 201 in 1999 to 321 in 2000.

Last year, police recorded 47,404 total crimes including 85 murders, 443 rapes, 3,366 robberies and 2,450 aggravated assaults. Las Vegas police has a force of 1,859 officers.

Although Sheriff Keller elected not to participate in the federally-funded Community Oriented Policing (COPS) program, other police agencies in Nevada did and added 52 officers which they could not have afforded otherwise. The program was to put 100,000 new officers on forces across the country. But now, Reid said, the COPS program is also affected by Bush's budget.

"Every guy on the street knows that the more police you have, the lower the crime rate," he said.

In a later interview, Reid discussed how legislation on Capitol Hill could affect Nevada, citing bankruptcy, campaign finance, energy and environmental concern bills. He went on to say that the military review ordered by President Bush would probably not affect the state.

"Nellis is there until we stop having men and women in airplanes," he said. "They can have all the base closure commissions they want. Nellis will be fine, Fallon will be fine. The only (base) that may have a little bit of worry is Hawthorne."

Jason Harris, View staff writer, contributed to this article.