Seattle Police Chief Picked As Nation's Drug 'Czar'

by The Associated Press

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Elaine Thompson

Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske at a July 2006 news conference. Kerlikowske is expected to be named Wednesday to head the Office of National Drug Control Policy. AP

NPR.org, March 11, 2009 · President Obama has chosen Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske to be the nation's drug czar and lead a stepped-up campaign against substance abuse, Vice President Joe Biden announced Wednesday.

Biden said the 36-year law enforcement veteran will bring to the task a lifetime of experience working on drug policy.

"There's no one more qualified to take on this job than the chief," Biden told a White House audience including other big-city police chiefs and advocates representing drug prevention and treatment organizations.

Biden said he was disappointed that during the Bush administration, the drug czar's office "hasn't gotten the attention that it should have." He added, "Substance abuse is one of our nation's most pervasive problems."

Kerlikowske, 59, said he looked forward to his new role and noted his professional and personal experience with the effects of drug abuse on young people and families. His stepson, Jeffrey, has an arrest record on drug charges.

Kerlikowske's nomination as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy requires Senate approval. If confirmed, he would take over for John Walters, who held the job under President George W. Bush.

Kerlikowske has been Seattle's top cop for nearly nine years and has been credited with reducing crime rates to record lows.

The agency will no longer have Cabinet-level status, a White House official said, but Kerlikowske "will have a seat at the table when important decisions are being made ... and full access and a direct line to the president and vice president."

Kerlikowske served a stint during the Clinton administration as deputy director in the Justice Department's COPS program, which promotes community policing. He has also held top police positions in Florida and Buffalo, N.Y.

Kerlikowske is viewed as a workmanlike, circumspect choice who has street perspective and the policy smarts to navigate the bureaucracy. As president of the Major Cities Police Chiefs Association, he is known as a progressive and a proponent of community-oriented policing.

Colleagues expect him to ramp up efforts to stem demand for illegal narcotics by emphasizing prevention and treatment.

"I would expect Gil to say there's absolutely a role that enforcement plays, but what other things do we need to do at the community and the state and federal level on prevention and intervention in order to be successful?" asked San Jose, Calif., Police Chief Rob Davis, a friend of Kerlikowske's and vice president of the Major Cities Police Chiefs, in a recent interview with The Associated Press. "If all we do is arrest people for drugs, we're missing the opportunity to get involved in the beginning and take people out of drugs. Gil gets that concept."

In the Clinton administration, Kerlikowske worked on ways to monitor grants the agency gave to local police efforts, and he frequently emphasized analysis and data, looking for "ways to prevent crime rather than reacting to it," said Tim Quinn, the COPS program's acting director.

John Carnevale, an official in the drug office from its inception in 1989 until 2000, met Kerlikowske while working on ways to measure the agency's effectiveness. "He's big on accountability," said Carnevale. Kerlikowske's Washington and local policing background is a plus, particularly if other appointees bring a strong treatment and prevention background, he said.

Seattle activists who work on drug-reform issues called Kerlikowske smart and reasonable, and they noted that his police department has largely abided by a voter-approved initiative that made marijuana possession the city's lowest law enforcement priority.

Even at the city's annual Hempfest protest and festival, police arrested only a few people despite the open-air pot smoking, said Vivian McPeak, director of the event.

Douglas Hiatt, an attorney who defends medical marijuana patients, said the chief has tried "to do the right thing on medical marijuana. He's trying to get it across to his officers not to hassle patients."

Kerlikowske told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in December that if he joined the Obama administration, "At my age, at this point in my career, I'd want something where you feel like you could make a real impact."

From NPR.org

Interesting pick. Another indication that Obama's administration is interesting in changing the status quo. I would not expect to see legalized marijuana anytime soon, but at least the War on Drugs may be changing, or perhaps dropped all together. At least the approach may move to substance abuse treatment and away from criminal punishment.