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Andrew E. Voris
Daily Egyptian

Criminals making methamphetamine in Illinois are going to find more officers ready, willing and able to bust their operations due to increased efforts to train officers.

Last week, the Jackson County Sheriff's Department hosted its second in a series of meth lab dismantling courses.

Officers from different departments that deal with meth-related crime around the state came to Jackson County to learn how to handle what is often a volatile and dangerous crime scene.

Jackson County Sheriff Bob Burns said the sheriff's department put two more deputies through the program last week, making six deputies in the department who are now certified lab dismantlers.

"I think they are amazed at the amount of information they've received," Burns said.

The 33 officers who attended went through rigorous physical training in last week's intense heat. They spent the day at the Carbondale Police Range learning procedures to approach a meth lab crime scene by going through simulated events.

Officers broke into groups of five and were rotated through training stations. First, they were instructed on how to properly suit up in their protective Tychem body suits and self-contained breathing apparatuses to protect themselves from toxic spills and fumes.

They learned how to work in teams within smoke-filled buildings, which duties each person has when approaching actual labs, and what steps to take when an officer becomes poisoned or incapacitated on the scene.

Tom MacNamara, special projects coordinator for the Southern Illinois Enforcement Group (SIEG), two members of a professional chemical laboratories group from California, an officer from the Drug Enforcement Administration and other SIEG officers conducted the class. The classes are funded through a federal COPS grant that was awarded to Jackson County.

MacNamara said the officers received high marks all week in their evaluations from group instructors.

In 2004, 49 meth labs were reported in Jackson County, according to SIEG. Those numbers are down from 2003, when 62 were reported, MacNamara said.

MacNamara said it is going to take a greater awareness from the community to help combat the epidemic.

"We are not going to arrest our way out of this problem," MacNamara said.

Without the knowledge of how to deal with a lab, officers can be apprehensive about dealing with one, Sheriff's Deputy Max Snyder said. Snyder is a previously certified dismantler.

"When you teach them what to look for and how to assess it and how to evaluate it, they feel more comfortable." Snyder said.

Officers also got toxicology training in the class. They were taught to use specific instruments in order to take readings on possible airborne toxic substances.

Snyder went with the class Wednesday to SIU, where officers saw the actual manufacturing procedure and were shown the dangerous components of it.

"We went through actual hands-on training," Snyder said. "That really helps officers get the big picture."

There are several formulas and methods to produce meth. The most common in this region is the anhydrous method. It first developed in southwest Missouri and spread heavily throughout the Midwest over the last decade, McNamara said.

"This stuff is the most addictive of the different kinds of these drugs," Burns said.

One of the main problems in dealing with the type of locally produced meth is that it is not part of an organized entity, MacNamara said.

An individual or a small group usually runs a lab. The methods are easily learned and materials to manufacture the drug are readily available.

Officers in the class spoke of the radical ways they have seen criminals steal anhydrous ammonia from farmers. One officer talked about apprehending a man using a bicycle tire as a container to transport the chemical, while another officer said he caught a guy using a Pringles can.

The invention of GloTell, an additive that colors anhydrous ammonia and compromises meth production, is something law enforcement officials say is helpful and should be used more, Snyder said.

Legislation on its way to the desk of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, which was sponsored by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, is expected to aid law enforcement by allowing the state to more easily prosecute meth offenders.

No meth labs have been reported recently in Carbondale. No officers from the Carbondale Police department attended the class.

Reporter Andrew E. Voris can be reached at andrew_voris@dailyegyptian.com