The coordinator of the Central Iowa Drug Task Force said the task force is successful in stopping drug violators in the area.

“We have not increased man power, but we have increased activity,” said John Tinker, coordinator of the task force. Tinker is also an investigator for the Iowa State Department of Public Safety.

The task force, which is staffed cooperatively by law agencies in Story and Boone counties, is manned by three full-time investigators. Each agency provides assistance in investigations on a part-time basis, Tinker said. A drug prosecutor for the Story County Attorney’s office also works with the force full time.

Those involved with the task force believe it is a necessary and worthwhile operation to keep drugs out of Iowa.

There is a concern with drug trafficking in the area, said Penny Westsall, a captain with the Story County Sheriff’s Department. Although the problem could be worse, “we aren’t unique compared to other cities in the Midwest,” she said.

Drug trafficking in the area does involve the university, Tinker said. “There are a number of people involved in trafficking outside of the university too, and this bridges both areas,” he said.

The task force works primarily within Story and Boone counties, Tinker said, although there is overlap into other areas.

“People involved in drug trafficking don’t stop at county lines,” he said.

The task force is funded through a grant from the Governor’s Alliance on Substance Abuse, which must be reapplied for each year. This task force has been funded each year since 1993, Tinker said.

The application through GASA is very competitive, Westsall said. “If we’re not doing a good job, we won’t receive the grant.”

She thinks the cooperation between the two counties is efficient, and the government thinks so too.

“If they didn’t think so, the grant wouldn’t be approved,” she said. It helps that the people involved support the joint force and believe in it also, she said.

There are 18 task forces throughout the state, and multi-jurisdictional forces like this one are recommended for many reasons, Westsall said.

“One is that information is shared across a broader area,” she said. A problem like drug trafficking is not just occurring specifically in Ames or Boone or Story County, but in the entire area, she said.

Another reason is that combining area law agencies allows ease in undercover investigations. “It allows investigators to move around and not be recognized,” Westsall said.

The task force is working hard to stop drug violations from occurring in the area. With full time and part time help, the force is making more arrests and seizing more drugs, Tinker said.