It’s back! An increasing number of meth labs in Tulsa neighborhoods. As crews try to keep up with all of the meth lab calls, they say, there’s no end in sight and the problem is going to get worse before it gets better.
The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office receives so many calls in and around the area they have two answering machines to handle the high volume of calls. This means the Metro Drug Task Force remains extremely busy.
“Let's say we have five phone calls this morning, but that does not mean we will be able to conduct an investigation or perhaps even serve a warrant in the next several hours,” says Metro Drug Task Force member Wayne Kirkpatrick.
Its Wayne’s job to handle the 20+ calls a week to the hotline. He says the media exposure to the meth epidemic has helped.
“With your channel, Channel 5 has I believe led a lot of the media in getting the word out to the populous in northeastern Oklahoma about what to look for when it comes to meth trash, or perhaps odors or comings and goings,” says Kirkpatrick.
That knowledge turns into tips, but here’s the problem he’s running into to.
“We receive so many calls on that meth line and we're going to follow up on all those tips and it takes our resources and we have to go out in the field and follow up on those tips, so we're not there to man the phones like we would like to be,” says Sgt. Shannon Clark.
The issue boils down to two things: manpower and resources to handle all the calls.
“We don't want to miss those calls because those are important to us, to our community and to our children,” says Clark.
For Wayne, the end couldn’t come soon enough.
"I don't know when it might be if there's going to be an end,” Kirkpatrick says.
If you do suspect someone could be cooking meth in your neighborhood and you call the hotline number, you need to be as specific as you can. Give as many details as you can remember like license plate numbers, suspect descriptions, addresses and if that person has a weapon.
The Metro Drug Task Force reported the following numbers in the last three years:
- 2009 – 102 labs
- 2010 – 82 labs
- 2011 – 121 labs
The number to call if you suspect meth is 918-592-METH.
