Drug related crimes on campus down from previous year

By: Patricia Menendez/Contributing Writer

 

The University’s newly released 2018 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report showed that drug arrests and drug referrals on the Modesto Maidique Campus have gone down from 2016 to 2017 by about 14 percent and 17 percent respectively.

36 drug arrests and 79 drug referrals were made on the MMC campus in 2017. Four of the arrests and 63 of the referrals were made in MMC Housing.

The FIU Police Department most commonly encounters the following narcotics on campus: Marijuana, Xanax, Adderall, Cocaine, Ecstasy, Heroin and Fentanyl, according to Detective Ralph Torres from FIUPD’s Criminal Investigation Unit.

Xanax is a popular benzodiazepine drug among students because of its sedative properties. Torres said that college students typically sell a pill for about $10, and consume it by injecting it or snorting it.

Adderall is a combination medication used to treat ADHD. With its stimulant features, Adderall increases the ability to pay attention, to stay focused and to control behavior problems. It’s often used during midterm and finals season among college students.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine. Fentanyl can be absorbed through the skin, taken through pills, injected or snorted.

A drug arrest occurs depending on two factors: the type and amount of a narcotic present at the crime scene. For example, more than 20 grams of marijuana is a felony and 20 grams or less is a misdemeanor, according to Torres.

When a drug is found at a misdemeanor amount, the officer has the discretion to either issue a drug arrest or referral, Torres said to Student Media. For a drug referral, the officer writes a report, impounds or confiscates the narcotic and refers the student to Student Conduct.

Student Conduct then determines what sanctions, if any, are placed on the student for a drug referral and arrest. Their hearings involve the victims, witnesses, charged students, and witness officers.

Torres said that drugs are sometimes found in dorms, at a traffic stop, in plain sight and even through smell.

FIU’s Criminal Investigation Unit handles what happens after a drug is impounded by an officer.

“We go in and look at the reports and make sure they get sent to the proper individuals. If it’s a report where there was some sort of overdose, we make sure that the student was offered services to help them, and that they are okay,” said Torres.

After the paperwork is done, the drug is secured in the appropriate bag and placed in a “property locker.” The “property custodian,” who is a law-enforcement officer, then processes the paperwork and sends the drug to the Miami-Dade Police lab for proper identification.

“If drugs were kept off the streets, then the FIUPD would be happy,” Torres said.