McCleary Police Department Chief Steve Blumer said what looks like an influx of cases and increased police activity in recent months is really the culmination of cases started a while back.

Drug enforcement has been a priority of Blumer’s since taking the position in 2016. After speaking with citizens, city council and the mayor, Blumer found there were a few areas the community felt needed addressed.

“When I was interviewing for the job I did my research and interviewed people in McCleary and heard about a drug problem,” Blumer said. “So when I started day one I said ‘Okay, let’s focus on these drug problems.’”

“We’ve been focusing on narcotics, nuisances and speeding too,” he said.

So far this year 17 drug arrest warrants have been issued compared to only a couple in 2016 within the same time frame. Blumer said many of the drug bust cases now seeing warrants served are the result of investigations that have been ongoing for some time.

“The busts lately have been started from citizen and confidential informant information and through working with officers and the command,” he said. “I think it may seem like more is going on lately because any drug investigation takes time.”

It is vital for officers to follow the proper channels so arrests can be made. Blumer notes that officers can’t “just kick the door in and arrest people the next day.”

“We want to make sure our case is as solid as it can be for those drug arrests,” he said.

Blumer said more arrests will likely come within three, six and nine months.

“We should see more going into the future until we can tackle the process of trying to rid those problem areas as much as we can,” he said.

Blumer said often times additional arrests come with drug busts.

“Let’s say I go to a house or apartment for a drug bust, serve a warrant and arrest a couple people on drug offenses,” he said. “Typically nine out of 10 times we’re arresting more people there because they have warrants outstanding.”

The community has been instrumental in aiding drug bust efforts and the police department has been receiving more reports than usual. Blumer says that goes a long way to help the department and that citizens should not be weary of reaching out to the police department with information.

“We can’t be overwhelmed with information and the community is our best resource,” he said.