Anaheim School’s Program a New Anti-Drug Weapon

Stepping up efforts to protect children from drug peddlers, Paul Revere Elementary School on Tuesday became the first school in Orange County to post signs offering money and anonymity to anyone who reports drug dealing near the school.

Other areas and schools in Orange County have declared themselves “drug-free zones,” but Revere is the first to pair that declaration with signs suggesting that crime be reported by calling WE-TIP at (800) 47-DRUGS.

Tips that lead to convictions can be rewarded with up to $1,000 in cash. In addition, state law provides enhanced penalties for anyone convicted of selling cocaine within 1,000 feet of a schoolyard.

Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi praised the program as an added weapon in the local war against drugs because it allows people to report crime without fearing reprisals and because it serves as a “constant reminder” of the drug problem.

“Just yesterday, some of the parents (at Revere) were saying that one of the reasons some things are not reported is the fear of retribution,” Capizzi said. “They said having anonymity now would lead to tips in the near future, that they already had a couple of spots in mind they wanted to report.”

Anaheim Police Chief Joseph T. Molloy said he hopes that the signs, posted around the school’s perimeter, will also help dissuade those considering selling drugs to schoolchildren.

Calls placed to WE-TIP will be relayed to Anaheim police, who will then investigate the report, Molloy said. WE-TIP will take calls 24 hours a day, he said.

Meliton Lopez, superintendent of Anaheim City School District, said he wants to establish drug-free zones in the district’s 20 other elementary schools.

Revere doesn’t have a drug problem, he said, but it became the first school to have the drug-free zone because of its active parents group.