Sheriff's speech focuses on drug problems

Drugs and drug-related crimes are an increasing problem in Massachusetts' Essex County, according to Sheriff Frank Cousins, Jr., who spoke at Tufts Wednesday night. Essex borders Middlesex County, where Tufts is located.

Cousins' speech was entitled "Drugs, Crime, and the Death Penalty in Massachusetts."

According to Cousins, 90 percent of the 1,600 criminals incarcerated in Essex County have drug or alcohol problems -- 70 percent of whom are in prison as a direct result of drug or alcohol offenses.

In his speech, attended by about 25 students, he focused on the need for rehabilitating criminals. "I don't need an 18-year-old on a first offense in jail for possession of heroin," he said. "I need him in a community correction center getting an education and working."

The Tufts Republicans were responsible for bringing Cousins to Tufts. "We brought Sheriff Cousins to campus because he is an example of a local Republican who has made politics work in an unpartisan state," Tufts Republicans Speaker Coordinator sophomore Kevin Johannsen said.

Johannsen also pointed out that, as an African American, Cousins shows that "there is diversity in our party." Johannsen was pleased with the turnout. "I'd say it was a success," he said.

Cousins cited heroin as a growing problem due to the drug's highly addictive nature and its inexpensive price tag. "I think that drugs are the number one public policy problem in the United States right now and drugs are worse than ever before in Essex County," Cousins said. "Drugs drive crime."

Cousins said he has increased the use of Community Corrections Centers within the county. The three Essex County centers ensure "accountability for people on probation," he said. The centers are responsible for drug testing, education, work programs, and counseling for those on probation.

Cousins is a supporter of "strict, long, hard sentences" for violent crime, "but those aren't the bulk of our crimes," he said. He cited the recent sentencing of serial killer Gary Sampson to death in Massachusetts as an example of someone who deserves the death penalty.

He later clarified that "clearly [the death penalty] is not the cornerstone of why I'm in the criminal justice business."

For nonviolent offenders, Cousins is a supporter of rehabilitation and efforts to help offenders function in society. "We try to educate them, get them a high school diploma, and try to help them reenter the community," he said. "I don't buy into [the idea] that someone coming out of a correctional facility can't work."

During the question and answer session, topics included union and contract problems in the police force, same sex marriage, and gun control laws. "Massachusetts gun laws have done very, very little to reduce violent crime," Cousins said.

Students responded to the event positively. "I thought he was very direct ... it was more about the issues than the party politic," senior Candace Gomez said.

Graduate student Robert Chirwa found the speech "informative" and said, "It's nice to have access to a Republican state official."

Cousins, who is from Newburyport, Mass., has been the Sheriff of Essex County since 1998. He served two terms as a state representative from 1992-1996. He was recently appointed to Governor Mitt Romney's Crime Commission and teaches at North Shore Community College.

Cousins stressed the value of getting involved in local politics. "People think that the government is going to do everything for us ... Well, that's not going to happen."

According to Cousins, education is the most important deterrent to crime. "We should be telling young people, 'Further your education,'" he said. "That's one of the things I don't hear enough today and that bothers me."