Drug Rehabilitation Clinics: Illegal Drug Activities Near Some	 
District of Columbia Clinics Undermine Clinic Services and	 
Patient Rehabilitation (06-JUL-04, GAO-04-946T).		 
                                                                 
GAO summarized the results of its investigation, performed at	 
Congress' request, of street narcotic sales in the vicinity of	 
certain drug rehabilitation clinics in the District of Colombia. 
To obtain an overview of the problem, we conducted physical	 
surveillance of five clinics in the District of Columbia and	 
interviewed clinic personnel and law enforcement officials. In	 
brief, we found that a significant amount of illegal drug	 
trafficking activity takes place around these clinics. Patients  
frequently must navigate their way through a virtual bazaar of	 
illegal drug dealing when they enter and exit the facilities.	 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-04-946T					        
    ACCNO:   A10793						        
  TITLE:     Drug Rehabilitation Clinics: Illegal Drug Activities Near
Some District of Columbia Clinics Undermine Clinic Services and  
Patient Rehabilitation						 
     DATE:   07/06/2004 
  SUBJECT:   Drug abuse 					 
	     Drug trafficking					 
	     Drugs						 
	     Law enforcement agencies				 
	     Narcotics						 
	     Rehabilitation programs				 
	     Health care facilities				 

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GAO-04-946T

United States General Accounting Office

GAO Testimony

Before the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security,
Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives

For Release on Delivery Expected at 4:00 p.m. EDT Tuesday, July 6, 2004

DRUG REHABILITATION CLINICS

Illegal Drug Activities Near Some District of Columbia Clinics Undermine Clinic
                      Services and Patient Rehabilitation

Statement of Robert J. Cramer, Managing Director Office of Special
Investigations

                                       A

GAO-04-946T

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:

I am pleased to appear before you today to summarize the results of our
investigation, performed at your request, of street narcotic sales in the
vicinity of certain drug rehabilitation clinics in the District of
Colombia. To obtain an overview of the problem, we conducted physical
surveillance of five clinics in the District of Columbia and interviewed
clinic personnel and law enforcement officials. In brief, we found that a
significant amount of illegal drug trafficking activity takes place around
these clinics. Patients frequently must navigate their way through a
virtual bazaar of illegal drug dealing when they enter and exit the
facilities.

Background	From April 2003 through June 2004, criminal investigators from
the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) at the U.S. General Accounting
Office conducted surveillance at and around five drug rehabilitation
clinics in the District of Columbia-the OASIS Clinic at 910 Bladensburg
Rd., NE; the D.C. General Hospital at 1900 Massachusetts Ave., SE; the
Model Treatment Program at 1300 First St., NE; the United Planning
Organization Comprehensive Treatment Center at 333 N St., NE; and the
Department of Veterans Affairs Substance Abuse Program at 40 Patterson
St., NE. The OSI criminal investigators who conducted these surveillances
have many years of experience in the investigation of criminal activity,
including illegal street sales of narcotics. Most of these clinics are
located in nonresidential areas and are surrounded by parking lots, vacant
lots, warehouses and some stores. On a daily basis, clinics in the
Washington, D.C. area treat thousands of patients for a variety of
substance abuse problems. We also interviewed personnel at three of the
five clinics, detectives from the major narcotics branch of the
Metropolitan Washington D.C. Police Department (MPD), and prosecutors from
the U. S. Attorney's office in the District of Columbia. We conducted our
work in accordance with quality standards for investigations as set forth
by the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency.

Drug Trafficking Certain typical patterns of street activity are commonly
associated with

illegal street sales of drugs. Such activity includes, for example, a
group ofObserved at Drug people, consisting of one or more drug dealers
and their associates, who Rehabilitation Clinics loiter in a particular
area day after day. Typically, individuals who act as

"lookouts," to protect the dealers from possible law enforcement
interdiction or even territorial encroachment by rival drug dealers,

                               Page 1 GAO-04-946T

occasionally walk away from the group and later walk back to re-join it.
In addition, customers walk up to such groups and exchange money for drugs
in hand-to-hand transactions, or walk away with someone in the group to
complete a drug transaction in another location, or circle their vehicles
near locations where the group congregates, slowing down to make contact
with narcotics sellers. To the untrained eye, such contacts may appear to
be innocent encounters between acquaintances, but in reality, the
participants are engaging in illicit transactions involving exchanges of
money for drugs.

During more than 50 visits to these clinics, investigators observed these
types of activities and others that are indications of drug trafficking.
For example, the investigators saw groups of individuals who were
loitering in parking lots or near banks of telephones, stores, and at bus
stops in the vicinity of the clinics. During our visits, we observed some
of the same people on repeated occasions. Individuals who appeared to
serve as lookouts would wander away from a group and later re-join it. In
addition, people driving vehicles would circle the locations where these
groups congregated, slowing down to speak with people on the street. The
investigators observed people from the street groups repeatedly entering
and exiting vehicles that pulled up to them, meeting other people on the
street and engaging in hand to hand contact, or walking away with them,
sometimes entering a store with them and subsequently leaving the store
without any visible sign that either person had made a purchase in the
store. Some of the drug dealers at these locations were brazen about their
activities. For instance, on three occasions, dealers approached an OSI
investigator and asked if he wanted to buy drugs.

On one occasion, our investigators observed an individual walking back and
forth on the streets near a clinic, stopping to engage in conversation
with many different people. Over a period of approximately 45 minutes, the
investigators observed the same individual continue this activity on
several streets with various people who were walking on the street, or who
stopped to speak with him as they were driving by in automobiles. Before
leaving the area that day, the investigators observed this individual open
a door of a parked automobile, pull out a small brown paper bag, and hand
it to another person who gave him cash. The investigators then observed
this individual count the money that had been handed to him.

One clinic is located in an isolated area near a bus stop. There are no
stores, residences, or other businesses in the area other than the clinic.
We learned from local police officials that the bus stop is known as a
place at

                               Page 2 GAO-04-946T

which illegal drug activity frequently takes place. We viewed a videotape
made by local police of a drug transaction that took place at the bus
stop, in which an undercover officer purchased narcotics. The officer made
the purchase from someone who, while appearing to be waiting for a bus,
sold drugs to the officer from a bag she carried. When OSI investigators
observed the bus stop, approximately eight to ten people were sitting at
the stop and appeared to be waiting for a bus. When a bus pulled up to the
stop, however, none of the people who were sitting there got on board. As
the investigators continued to watch, they observed other people approach
the individuals who were seated at the bus stop, engage in conversation
followed by hand-to-hand contact, and then walk away.

Adjacent to another clinic is a McDonald's restaurant that is known as the
"McPharmacy" to local law enforcement officials who have reported that
there is a high level of illegal drug activity in its vicinity. Local
police detectives reported that the area surrounding the restaurant and
clinic is a magnet for persons throughout the metropolitan Washington,
D.C. area seeking to buy and sell narcotics. As a result, local police,
federal law enforcement agencies, and police departments in Maryland and
Virginia cooperate in investigating illegal drug sales in the area. In
fact, a "sting" operation conducted in the area last year resulted in the
conviction of several drug dealers. On repeated visits to this location,
investigators saw many vehicles in the parking lot of the restaurant with
tags from several different states and the District of Colombia. However,
most of the vehicles' occupants remained in the lot and were not observed
to enter or leave or otherwise do business with the restaurant. Also,
investigators observed numerous individuals who stood around a bank of pay
telephones near the restaurant. As the individuals stood there, various
people walked up to them or drove up in cars. Investigators saw that many
of the people who approached the individuals near the telephones handed
something to, and received something back from, these individuals.
Although the investigators were unable to observe what these people
exchanged, on one occasion they observed that cash was exchanged for a
small bag. This activity is consistent with the typical patterns of
street-level illegal narcotics sales that I discussed earlier.

                               Page 3 GAO-04-946T

Clinic Personnel Confirm That Significant Drug Trafficking Takes Place Near
Clinics

We also interviewed personnel at three of the clinics who confirmed that
there is extensive illegal drug dealing activity in the vicinity of their
clinics. A director at one clinic stated that he receives at least one
complaint each day from patients who are solicited by drug dealers outside
the clinic. The director reported that it is especially difficult for
these patients, who are struggling with addiction, to resist the
temptations offered by the drug dealers who confront them on a daily basis
outside the clinic. To alleviate this situation, the clinic changed its
hours of operation so that more patients can enter and leave the clinic
early in the day when drug dealers are less likely to be outside.
Additionally, the clinic's program director does not permit patients to
remain for more than 15 minutes outside the clinic. The program supervisor
at another clinic told us that each month, at least one patient reports
being assaulted in the vicinity of the clinic and robbed of methadone.

Concluding Remarks	In conclusion, significant drug trafficking takes place
in the vicinity of the drug clinics we visited. Although these clinics are
intended to help those in need of rehabilitation, patients who seek
treatment must navigate their way to and from the clinics in an
environment in which illegal sales of narcotics are daily occurrences. The
efforts of patients who are seeking rehabilitation, and clinic
professionals who serve them, are significantly undermined by the criminal
activity that surrounds them.

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be pleased to
respond to any questions that you or the other Members of the Subcommittee
may have at this time.

Contact Information For further information regarding this testimony,
please contact Robert J. and Acknowledgments Cramer at (202) 512-7455 or
George Ogilvie at (202) 512-9226.

                          (601240) Page 4 GAO-04-946T

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