The following is a press release from District Attorney Chad Salsman, who commented on the recent vote from the commissioners:
“I would like to publicly thank the Bradford County Commissioners for their unanimous support in creating the new full-time position of Bradford County Drug Task Force Coordinator,” said Salsman.
The Task Force Coordinator is a new county detective position under the direct authority of Bradford County District Attorney Chad M. Salsman.
“Although we appreciate the work that was done through their office, their focus was mainly in specific limited areas of the county and there was often a significant time lag between investigating and prosecuting cases. By having local control, we will operate in all areas of the county and bring cases to a much faster conclusion,” said Salsman.
The coordinator has already begun working on cases in Bradford County. Within the next two weeks, the coordinator will be meeting with representatives from the Pennsylvania State Police and other local municipal police agencies in order to coordinate drug enforcement efforts.
Within the next month or so, the hope is that the county commissioners will approve an additional full-time county detective position to work with the newly-hired Coordinator. The goal is to have the entire task force operating at full strength by Oct. 1.
The coordinator , who will remain anonymous due to his profession, has years of experience in drug enforcement not only at the local level, but also with the federal government and the Office of Attorney General. “He is the most qualified person in the county that I could find to run our drug task force,” said Salasman. “For security reasons, we are asking that his identity not be published, but he did want to make the following statement: Thank you to District Attorney Salsman and the county commissioners for hiring me to fill this important role in Bradford County. I have long believed that to fight the scourge of drugs in our community we need education, rehabilitation, and enforcement. I am pleased to be the tip of the spear for the enforcement component. Without the vision and leadership of Chad Salsman, this position would not have been created and I am very grateful for his faith in me.’”
“When I campaigned for the office of District Attorney, I spoke with thousands of residents who were concerned about the drug problem in Bradford County,” said Salsman. “I promised that if I were elected, I would seek to create a local drug task force. After eight months of hard work, I am pleased that promise is now fulfilled.”
“The county took the first step to bring back the Bradford County drug task force. This will be a county-wide effort to help rid our county of illegal drug problems effecting our county. The trafficking and use of Illegal drugs have a wide reaching and sometimes tragic effect on our families, communities, and our county. We need to work to insure our county is a safe place to live, work, and raise our families,” said Daryl Miller, Bradford County Commissioner Chairman.
If a citizen knows of drug activity in their neighborhood in any area of Bradford County, no matter how remote or out of the way, they may call the Bradford County District Attorney’s Office at 570-265-1712 and ask for the county detective. They may also send an e-mail to bcdetective@bradfordco.org.
The stated mission of the Bradford County Drug Task Force is to aggressively seek out and prosecute violators of the drug laws in Bradford County. Our mission is also, however, to save lives. We want people to get the help they need to overcome their addiction and become productive members of society. With the citizens of Bradford County being our eyes and ears, we are confident that we can make a difference.”