Scott County Special Operations Unit Task Force

Proposal Abstract

Applicant’s Name: Scott County Iowa

Project Title: Scott County Special Operations Unit Task Force (SCSOUTF)

Targeted Area:  Scott County Iowa

Goals & Objectives: The number one goal of the SCSOUTF is to educate and prevent drug use and to reduce the amount of illegal narcotics available to the public and to identify and arrest those who distribute and/or manufacture illegal narcotics in our community.

Strategy Description: The SCSOUTF has a three tiered approach it uses in accomplishing the goals of the unit.  (1) Covert operations entail working in an undercover capacity, (2) Overt capacity address the narcotic interdiction efforts of the SCSOU and (3) the education component addresses educational, civic and community needs by discussing the dangers of illegal narcotics and those who distribute and/or manufacture them. 

Partnerships: The SCSOUTF consists of three local law enforcement agencies (Davenport Police Department, Bettendorf Police Department and the Scott County Sheriff’s Office), the Scott County Attorney’s Office, one federal prosecutor’s office, the FBI and the DEA. The SCSOUTF Board consists of the Chiefs and Sheriff of the Scott County law enforcement agencies, the Scott County Attorney’s Office, and the Iowa United States Attorney’s Office.  

Outcomes: The SCSOUTF measures its success by the quantity of narcotics seized and taken out of our community, the number of arrests, the number of weapons taken off our streets and the number of educational presentations provided to the community.  

Project Identifiers: 1) Education:  The SCSOUTF educates our community’s students, civic leaders, and citizens by providing programs in drug recognition, methamphetamine/heroin awareness and other narcotic related presentations.  The SCSOUTF is also a leader in training local police agencies in interdiction and narcotics tactics as well as drug investigations, confidential source management and follow up investigations. 2) Violence – Violent Crime: People who manufacture/distribute and consume illegal narcotics are often those responsible for other violent crimes in our community. By being vigilant in our efforts to combat illegal narcotics, the SCSOUTF is essentially combating those other areas of violence, especially gun crimes, by persons involved with the distribution of narcotics. 3) Drug Market Intervention: The SCSOUTF identifies street corner dealers which infect our neighborhoods with career criminals. 4) Methamphetamine: The SCSOUTF staffs Meth Response Team members and provides educational programs to the community. 5) Organized Crime: The SCSOUTF identifies criminal conspiracies which utilize organized crime as an element of its existence.