Page 36 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch June 14, 2013 ... Worcester Tops Pot Arrest Rates FROM PAGE 20 cret that they’re paying extra attention during the summer months when the city becomes crowded. Public Affairs Specialist Lindsay O’Neal explained that June in particular tends to see a high volume of undercover officers out of the streets. “We always have a big effort going towards drug enforcement but typically in June the problem seems to get worse so our narcotics officers really crackdown then,” she said. “Our narcotics officers, they do undercover drug enforcement operations and they really focus on combating the problem because we know it’s a problem, everyone does, so they really step up their drug enforcement for the summer months.” This month, the OCPD, in cooperation with the Sheriff’s Office, made 12 arrests and confiscated $1,600 in cash along with drugs and paraphernalia through use of undercover narcotics agents. Likewise, the Sheriff’s Office, also sharing credit with OCPD, announced that the culmination of a six-month investigation has recently resulted in another five arrests with over $30,000 seized as well as 7.5 pounds of marijuana confiscated. A simple Internet search for pot possession arrests for a typical summer weekend in Ocean City yielded more than 50 results. From Friday June 7 through Sunday June 9, 26 arrests were made for marijuana possession and an additional 32 citations were issued for the same offense. The new ability for officers to either make an arrest or issue a citation for eligible offenders holding marijuana is something that Phoebus claimed can be a double-edged sword. While it allows greater convenience for both officers and violators by not forcing an arrest for marijuana possession under a certain amount, Phoebus explained that some people might not treat a written citation with the same gravity as actually being placed in handcuffs and therefore might ignore the infraction. Luckily, Phoebus said that law enforcement in the area seems to be making a special effort to make people understand that a citation for possession is still a serious thing. Schreier and O’Neal maintained that while there is a crackdown on drugs during the summer it is always done by the book and strictly for the safety of the community. Schreier underlined the healthy working relationship between agencies in the area and promised that drug dealers will not be safe by crossing county or municipal lines. “[Ocean City] is part of our county. We go in there and we’ve assisted Ocean City in their investigations and some of our investigations have carried over into Ocean City,” he said. That kind of vigilance will lead to a high arrest rate, admitted Schreier, but not because of aggressive policing. Worcester’s extreme arrest rate, he insisted, is only an anomaly because of the population influx. After 25 Years At Surf And Sands And The Sahara Cafe, ✦❀❈q✸¤✛❄✹✹❈ Will Be Leaving Ocean City To Care For Her Sister In Florida Her Last Day Working At The Sahara Cafe Will Be Sunday, June 23 Please Come By One More Time And See Her Off To ✤❊❁❁❈¤✮✸❃✼✷✸❚✸❙❃¤✛❊❈ SHE WILL BE MISSED BY ALL SAHARA CAFE • OPEN DAILY AT 7 A.M. • 410-289-5080 19TH ST. & BALTIMORE AVE. • OCEAN CITY, MD.