Monrovia : Drug Law Having Effect

A controversial drug law that allows police officers to arrest suspects believed to be loitering to buy or sell drugs has resulted in substantial reductions in late night crime and traffic, Police Chief Joseph Santoro said.

Santoro told the City Council on Tuesday that 10 arrests have been made under the year-old ordinance, which he said has served as a model for other agencies around the state.

When the ordinance was adopted, there was fear in the city’s minority communities that it would be used to harass poor and minority residents. But Santoro said there have been no complaints about the law and that it has been well received in the neighborhoods where drug loitering was taking place.