Arvada West

DOES ARVADA HAVE A DRUG PROBLEM?

Oct 06, 2000

Have you ever wondered wonder if Arvada has a drug problem?
According to Arvada police commander Debra Grainger, who oversees the Arvada Police Department's Investigations Bureau, problems with illegal substances in Arvada are similar to those of other Jefferson County jurisdictions, but far below the level of drug-related problems and crimes in larger metropolitan cities. Methamphetamine and cocaine seem to be the two most prevalent drugs occurring in Arvada; however, police departments throughout Jefferson County, including Arvada, have experienced an increase in the number of heroin cases in the past five years. Arvada is a member of the West Metro Drug Task Force, a multi-jurisdictional drug team comprised of investigators from the Arvada, Golden, Lakewood, Westminster, and Wheat Ridge Police Departments, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, United States Customs, and the Drug
Enforcement Administration. Undercover detectives assigned to the Task Force work to break drug distribution rings by going to the source of the supply, thereby reducing the quantity of drugs in the community. In addition to identifying and destroying several methamphetamine labs in Arvada since January of 2000, the West Metro Drug Task Force plans to team up with the Colorado Air National Guard to perform drug eradication in rural areas of Jefferson County.

Fast Fact: The West Metro Drug Task Force seized more than 2000 grams (more than four pounds) of methamphetamine in Jefferson County from January to June of this year.