Law Enforcement

Clandestine Laboratory Operations

Florida has a growing methamphetamine problem. Methamphetamines are a man-made drug, chemically "cooked" by distributors in extremely unsafe and volatile circumstances. Originally a problem confined to the west coast of the United States, it gradually spread to the mid-west, where it has been contained for a number of years.

Recently, however, we have seen large shipments seized within our state. The addictive qualities of this drug, along with the extreme psychotic and violent reactions of users, make it a highly dangerous drug.

"Cookers" often prepare the drug in makeshift laboratories such as rented apartments and motel rooms, only to have the ingredients explode, killing or severely injuring them, endangering nearby citizens, and creating chemical hazard areas that require extensive decontamination efforts. The Strategy therefore advocates an expanded Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Program for Florida to attack the growing problem of methamphetamine.

Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Programs coordinate planning, arrests, convictions, seizures, waste removal, and restoration of contaminated property. Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Programs build upon a foundation in which they design multi-jurisdictional clandestine laboratory enforcement efforts. Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Programs provide services to increase awareness among law enforcement and other public safety agencies of the hazards associated with clandestine drug laboratories and of the need for intergovernmental coordination to combat them at all levels.

Multi-jurisdictional operations of Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Programs create performance-based measures to ensure their overall effectiveness. Among these measures are multi-disciplinary planning teams, interagency agreements, selection and training of personnel, monitoring of sales/distribution of precursor chemicals, and community awareness education and training programs. Multi-disciplinary planning teams are responsible for developing strategy and assigning roles to each participating agency. Interagency agreements address the purpose, goal, objectives, scope of authority, funding pay, personnel, media relationships, benefits, and shared distribution of forfeited assets.

Personnel such as program coordinators, law enforcement officials, prosecutors, financial investigators, and experts from fire department, hazardous materials teams, health and environmental/ecological teams are selected and trained under the guidelines established through performance measures. Monitoring sale and distribution of chemicals essential to the production of illicit drugs is a coordinated effort established by Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Programs, enhancing the amount of statewide intelligence distributed among participating agencies. Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Programs also develop policies and procedures for clean up of clandestine labs, as well as community awareness education and training programs on clandestine drug lab operations.