Saturday, January 24, 2009

Van Winkle is city's top cop

War on drugs among chief's top priorities

Pilar Armstrong El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

George Van Winkle is looking forward to taking care of business.

Van Winkle, who was unveiled Tuesday, Jan. 20, as Socorro's new chief of police, said he's thrilled about his new position.

"It's very exciting," Van Winkle said. "It's a young, energetic department — that's one of the things that influenced me into taking the job."

Prior to being named chief, Van Winkle served a 10-year stint as Magdalena Marshal, an eight-year run as Socorro County Undersheriff and one year as a detective with the local police department.

Van Winkle and his wife have been living in New Mexico for almost 24 years and currently reside in Magdalena.

The new chief cites the war on drugs as one of his biggest challenges on the job.

"It's a big problem in Socorro, especially since (the arrival of) meth," he said. "Labs are mobile and meth can be produced in the trunk of a car, making it harder to find."

According to Van Winkle, drug and alcohol dependence serve as the catalyst to most domestic violence incidents and robberies.

Chief Van Winkle also said that he has been on a total of seven drug busts in his law enforcement career, all of them successful. The department currently engages in two drug busts per month.

Contrary to pop culture's take on a bust, the new chief said it's not as easy as it appears.

"It's not like what you see on TV — where they make it look easy," Van Winkle said. "It takes a while to investigate and set up surveillance."

The Region 7 Drug Task Force from Las Cruces is assisting the Socorro department with resources and assets in the form of manpower and some funding for overtime pay.

The Socorro County Sheriff's Department will also collaborate with the City of Socorro's drug task force.

The Socorro Police department currently employs a narcotics officer and a drug-sniffing dog named Apollo.

The chief's excitement is matched by members of his team who say they look forward to working for Van Winkle.

Capt. Lawrence Montaño has nothing but praise for his new boss.

"He has a bunch of fresh ideas, everybody's optimistic and has a lot of faith in him," Montaño said. "He's going to do a lot for us in the department and the public."

According to Montaño, the new chief will aggressively pursue drug dealers by conducting more raids and undercover work.

Police stress the need for community involvement to combat the scourge of drugs. The department has set up a 24-hour anonymous drug hot line. People who are aware of any kind of drug activity can call 575-838-0533. Any information regarding any type of drug activity is welcome.

"The best information for people to give is who the drug dealer is," Montaño said. "But a lot of people are afraid."

The war on drugs is also a concern for Socorro City Councilor Ernest Pargas. Pargas said getting the public more involved is paramount to the fight.

Despite his concerns Pargas is hopeful that the new chief can affect a change.

"I'm excited that his priority is the war on drugs. It's an issue that needs to be addressed aggressively," Pargas said. "I think that he's a good choice. He's a man of integrity."

parmstrong@dchieftain.com

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