Operation: Street Smart

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office created Operation Street Smart in July 2002 as a way to take community oriented policing to a new level. Street Smart is a collaborative effort between D.A.R.E. and the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which is the Sheriff’s Office undercover narcotics branch. Through the Franklin County Commissioner’s Office, a Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant was obtained to fund this unique endeavor that is believed to be the first of its kind in the United States. To date, Operation: Street Smart has been presented over 1,100 times to over 115,000 people throughout Ohio and the United States. In May 2004, the program received the F.B.I. Director’s Community Leadership Award.

The goal of Street Smart is to provide current and up-to-date narcotics information on trends, terminology, paraphernalia, concealment techniques, and physiological effects to those individuals who deal with today’s youth on a daily basis. The target audience for street smart includes DARE and school resource officers, juvenile detectives, school administrators and school board members, teachers, and parents. Other groups and organizations that deal with juveniles are also eligible to receive this free program. Past attendee’s have also included physicians, school nurses, juvenile prosecutors, juvenile probation officers, and children services employees.

Two current undercover detectives, who possess over fifty years of combined narcotics experience, conduct the Street Smart presentation. This four-hour program includes actual examples of current designer street drugs such as XTC, Bath Salts, Huffing, LSD, GHB, K2/Spice, and Khat. D.A.R.E. officers escort the examples throughout the audience for hands on effect. Current drug paraphernalia examples are available to depict the ease in camouflaging drug use from adults. A strong emphasis is placed on the physiological effects of the drugs and indicators to look for. So-called “traditional” drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, crack, heroin, and methamphetamine are also covered extensively as teenagers still heavily abuse these drugs. A portion of the program also deals with prescription medications, including DXM, due to the easy accessibility in most households. The entire presentation is back dropped by a PowerPoint slide show depicting additional examples of the drug being shown.

Due to the vast amount of material presented, four-hour time blocks are requested. Smaller time frames can sometimes be accommodated under special circumstances. Under current conditions of the grant, only schools/groups within Franklin County can be eligible for the Street Smart presentation. For more information, contact:

Lieutenant Shawn Bain Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit 410 S. High Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 Phone: 614-462-3318 Email: [email protected] Operation: Street Smart Staff

Auxiliary Sergeant Michael N. Powell Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit

Sgt. Powell began working with the Sheriff’s Office in December in 1973 and retired in March 2006, a total of 36 years. For the last 20 years of his tenure, he was assigned to the Special Investigations Unit (S.I.U.) working narcotics, vice, and stolen property investigations. Sgt. Powell is a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. From June 1995 through December 2001, Sgt. Powell was federally deputized and was a supervisor with the F.B.I. Drug Task Force in Columbus. Sgt. Powell has lectured quite extensively on narcotics both locally and nationally. Sgt. Powell is a member of the Narcotics Association Regional Coordinating Officers (NARCO) as well as a state certified instructor of narcotics teaching at police academies throughout Ohio. Sgt. Powell also drafted and is the lead instructor in basic and advanced undercover narcotics courses offered across the state since 1984. Currently, Sgt. Powell is detailed to the Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) federal task force.

Lieutenant Shawn T. Bain Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit

Lt. Bain has been a deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office since 1985. He has been assigned to many different divisions with the Sheriff’s Office including the Jail division, Patrol division, Canine Unit, SWAT, and the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) conducting vice and narcotics investigations. Lt. Bain has supervised in all of these areas. Lt. Bain is a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Lt. Bain is also a graduate of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Drug Unit Commanders Academy. Lt. Bain has attended numerous other schools and seminars across the country. Lt. Bain has been assigned to numerous task forces assisting the FBI, DEA, and US Marshall’s Office. Lt. Bain is a member of the International Narcotics Interdiction Association (INIA) and the Narcotic’s Association Regional Coordinating Officers (NARCO). Lt. Bain is a state certified instructor for the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. He is currently assigned as commander of the Special Investigations Unit and the Franklin County Drug Task Force.