An increase in drug related arrests in Tomah over the past several weeks does not necessarily indicate an increase in drug use in the city, Tomah Police Chief Wes Revels said. It also does not point to a surge of drug investigations. For Revels and the Tomah Police Department, the increase of drug related arrests has more to do with a number of factors, including good tips and the emphasis put on each individual investigation.

“Are there more drug cases? That is difficult to answer,” Revels said. “In each area, it is really about the emphasis the investigator places on those investigations.”

Investigator Rob Walensky does the majority of drug investigations for the Tomah Police Department. He, like Revels, said that he really doesn’t know if there is more drug use in Tomah than there was a year ago. But over the past few weeks, several investigations and anonymous tips have helped the Tomah Police with an increase of drug arrests.

Since May 27, five major drug arrests have been made and reported. The drug arrest numbers are up for the year as well. From January through May, the Tomah Police Department reported 45 drug violations, compared to 11 over the same period of time in 2007. Despite the increases, Revels and Walensky insist that the increases are simply numbers. Walensky also said that the drug scene in Tomah has changed, and turned into a new concern for police.

“It has kind of shifted phases,” Walensky said of drug use in Tomah.” Marijuana used to be predominantly what we dealt with. Now we are dealing with cocaine, which means more addicts and more demand. If you arrest one dealer, you still have addicts out there.”

A large portion of cocaine cases that the Tomah Police Department have handled deal with crack cocaine, Revels said. Despite several recent drug cases involving teenagers and people in their early 20s, Revels and Walensky said that drug use and youth has not been a trend.

“We have been experiencing crack cocaine use and a lot of it is people in their mid to late 20s, even up to their early 50s,” Revels said. “We have seen a pretty wide age range of people using crack cocaine.”

Walensky is the Tomah Police Department’s only investigator. Revels said that the Police Department could use a second investigator, but at this point Walensky is handling the job fine, despite the consuming workload. For Walensky and Revels, tips from the public are very valuable.

One area of concern for Revels is the outside influences on drug use in the city. He said that people bring experiences from larger cities with them to Tomah.

“People come to our town for a reason, and those relationships and experiences from larger, metro cities come with them,” Revels said. “We have arrested a number of our transient population for cocaine. You’ll see people that come to Tomah, sell drugs, leave, and come back. I think the price is better here, and I think that is related to the demand.”

The Tomah Police Department has dealt with several cases in the past that have been connected. In June of 2006, the Tomah Police Department arrested 36 people on a drug conspiracy case. Many of the defendants in the case were linked together. Despite the similarities of many of the recent drug arrests, Walensky said that he is not seeing connections between them at this point.”

“We haven’t been seeing connections recently,” Walensky said. “We have in the past, but not with any recent cases.”

Walensky and Revels said that they are not limiting investigations to cocaine and marijuana. Walensky said that the abuse of prescription drugs has been on the rise, and Revels said that if information becomes available on any drug related case, the Tomah Police Department will pursue it. While they may not indicate a surge in drug use, the recent drug arrests in Tomah have been put in the public eye. Revels said that for law enforcement it creates a large volume of work. For the community, he hopes that the people of Tomah know that their streets are safe.

“Still keep in mind that we still have a very safe community,” Revels said. “We are not seeing a high level of violent crimes by addicts. I think it is important that everyone in Tomah is aware that drug activity is occurring, and they should be comfortable finding an avenue to get any information to us so we can investigate the activity, either through an email, anonymously, or crimestoppers.”

Tomah Police Investigator Rob Walensky can be reached at RWalensky@charterinternet.com.

Recent arrests

*May 27 - A Hillsboro woman was pulled over and arrested for possession of marijuana, and her fifth OMVWI.

*June 2 - A Tomah High School student was taken into custody for marijuana possession after a drug investigation on school grounds.

*June 3 - As police were in the middle of a warrant drug search of a home, another man showed up with a marijuana delivery, and the police made two arrests.

*June 5 - Two men were arrested for cocaine possession. During the arrest, a Tomah teen, who fled police before being apprehended, was arrested for cocaine possession for the second time since February.

*June 9 - Criminal charges are also expected to be filed against four teenagers that were arrested for marijuana possession.