Is there any accurate measure of the effectiveness of the Butler County Drug Task Force?

Probably not. It’s a lot like trying to hit a moving target. And while it’s notable and praiseworthy the task force arrested eight suspected drug dealers in recent days — with more arrests expected soon, the nature and quantity of drugs confiscated from Butler County’s streets during these arrest is disturbing.

The Butler County Drug Task Force was created by the District Attorney’s Office in July 1996; back then, the drugs of choice were crack cocaine and marijuana.

Seventeen years and more than 1,600 criminal arrests later, the task force faces a very different narcotic landscape. The popular drugs now are heroin, oxycodone and similar prescription painkillers. It is no coincidence that heroin’s resurgence coincides with U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan — far and away the world’s largest black-market exporter of the opium from which heroin is made.

Of the eight arrested in Butler County over this past weekend, most involved the possession and sale of heroin, which has surged in popularity in recent years.

Plentiful, cheap and infinitely more pure and potent than the heroin of the Vietnam War-era heyday, today’s version of the drug is sometimes laced with the prescription painkiller fentanyl, according to recent news reports. Abuse of fentanyl has been linked to 50 deaths statewide in the past year, according to a statement issued in late June by the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.

As long as the demand exists, the supply is plentiful and the potential profits are sizable, there will be a drug problem. Arrests can act as a deterrent, but only to a partial extent. Arrests alone won’t stop the flow of illegal drug activity.

In addition to its enforcement work, the drug task force also conducts educational programs throughout the year. There are 40 or more drug awareness programs conducted by task force officers for schools, youth groups, businesses, fraternal organizations and other interest groups.

Education — especially of young children — is an important and necessary component of community drug prevention. Children’s earliest exposure to law enforcement should leave an impression of trusted friend and public servant. And the earlier and more frequent they get that impression, the better.

The community must preserve and, if possible, expand its commitment to spreading an anti-drugs message to its youth. It’s a proverbial ounce of prevention against future crime.

The Butler County Drug Task Force deserves a salute for the weekend rash of arrests that take drugs and drug dealers off the streets. The task force also merits our support in its efforts to spread the message of drug prevention as well.