Public Safety

Operation Tip the Scale Reaches More than 50 Targets in Coastal North County

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Sheriff’s deputies and County Probation officers were among the 200 members of law enforcement and substance abuse treatment experts who worked Tuesday night to reduce illegal drug use in coastal North County with targeted sweeps resulting in 31 arrests and 14 conversations with local drug users about getting help.

The effort to hold drug offenders accountable while connecting them to treatment was led by the Encinitas Sheriff’s Station, the County Probation Department and the Carlsbad Police Department. It was the 11th Operation Tip the Scale in San Diego County and the first in Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe and Carlsbad.

Tuesday’s operation was the first since the State of California’s AB109 prison realignment, which has sent over 1,400 former inmates back to San Diego County since October.

Targets for the drug sweeps and warrant arrests included probationers and former prison inmates now under San Diego County Probation’s jurisdiction and supervision.

“We definitely took this population into consideration while planning this operation,” said Jason Druxman, a County Probation supervising probation officer. “Our job is to hold them accountable …to keep the community safe.”

And helping these recent criminals get free of drugs during the operation makes it more likely they won’t commit another crime, Druxman said.

“Every day we see prior offenders struggling with drug addiction,” he said.  “By discussing treatment options as part of this operation, we are offering them another tool to succeed.”  

Guiding prior offenders into treatment enhances public safety, improves lives and saves taxpayer money. That’s because arrestees who successfully complete a treatment program can end the costly cycle of committing crimes, being arrested and incarcerated, and begins living a better, drug-free life.

The ultimate goal for any Tip the Scale operation is to reduce drug-related crime by ensuring the targets abide by their court orders and stay clean.

Every contact receives a packet about the dangers of drug use and information about treatment. Even if substance users do not accept help immediately, they have the resources to seek help in the future.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and its partner agencies – including the Meth Strike Force – launched Operation Tip the Scale in 2009 to reduce drug-related crime in targeted neighborhoods.

In the past two years, Tip the Scale has led to more than 17,000 police contacts, 375 arrests, 180 treatment conversations and 600 information packets distributed.

Other agencies participating in Tuesday’s Operation Tip the Scale included the Escondido Police Department, San Diego County Alcohol and Drug Services, San Diego County Child Welfare Services’  Drug Endangered Children Program and Institute for Public Strategies.  

Residents throughout the county are urged to report meth-related crimes or seek information about treatment options by calling 1-877-NO-2-METH (1-877-662-6384) or by going online to www.no2meth.org.