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Some say investigation was flawed
Some people, including many current and former law enforcement personnel, believe that the so-called war on drugs can never be won. They say that trying to arrest our way out of a public health crisis related to illicit drugs, substance abuse and the violence that invariably accompanies them is misguided policy.Others disagree, saying that law enforcement is the only defense against illegal drugs and the criminal activity which stems from it.
Whatever side of the issue you come down on, you would have to agree with one basic premise. If you send a hot, blonde, undercover narcotics detective into a public high school with a well-prepared sob story about a dead mom and an absentee dad, begging sex-crazed 16- and 17-year-old boys for marijuana or ecstasy to “dull the pain,” you’re probably going to make a few arrests.Let’s just say it’s not your everyday drug sting. In a case that has drawn widespread condemnation even from law enforcement and educators, police in Falmouth, Massachusetts sent a cute, blonde, young-looking cop into Falmouth High School as an undercover agent with a sob story. Her three-month operation came to an end when police arrested nine teenage boys for selling her small quantities of marijuana and ecstasy. Four 17-year-olds were charged as adults while four 16-year-olds and one 14-year-old were charged as minors. Falmouth police told The Boston Globe they decided on the undercover operation because of complaints from some parents that drug use was rampant at the school.
According to Falmouth School Superintendent Dennis Richards, police had approached the school before the first of the year” about placing a narc in the school. “Our principal, Paul Cali, had experienced a similar situation six years ago, so he was familiar with it. I listened to Paul and the police, and I supported it,” Richards told The Globe. “Drugs are a concern in most communities around the country, and it’s no different here.” But others can only dream about working in a jurisdiction where the kind of extra time, money and manpower required to make nine low-level drug arrests is readily available. In addition, educators say they understand the concerns of parents and police about drug use in schools, but that undercover operations using attractive female detectives in high schools may have unintended consequences.
Tom Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents told The Globe stings like the one in Falmouth should be used only as a last resort. “It’s done where there are serious concerns and they need to go deeper into the scope of the problem,” he said.
Others agreed that the approach would not fly in their locale.“I don’t think the community would accept that,” said Paul Richards, principal of Needham High School. “This is the kind of stuff you see in made-for-TV movies,” said Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
Even a former Suffolk County assistant prosecutor criticized the undercover operation, saying it was “outrageous” to use such tactics in high schools. “What strikes me as odd is if it was so prevalent, why did an undercover police officer have to dig so deep?” he asked. “As a prosecutor I wouldn’t be comfortable with this. Why should she have to make up a sob story? That’s something you’ll have to explain to a jury.” Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites        
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