ARLINGTON — “I’ve spent thirty years trying to arrest my way out of this problem, and I’m no closer to doing so now than when I started.”

That’s what Deputy Police Chief Jonathan Ventura told a packed house of Arlington citizens at a March 30 crime prevention meeting.

“The war on drugs is a losing battle,” he added. “That’s why I say that this is a public health crisis, rather than a criminal justice one.”

Ventura proudly touted the 16 pounds of heroin and 13 pounds of methamphetamine that Arlington police and their two drug dogs have taken off the streets. But like so many public officials and his peers in law enforcement, he believes the best solution is to treat drug addiction, rather than punishing drug addicts.

That is not to say the city or county plan to adopt a relaxed attitude toward drug crimes, but they are balancing the protection of citizens with measures to help addicts help themselves.

Snohomish County Councilman Ken Klein reported to the crowd in the Arlington Council Chambers that the county has hired four new prosecuting attorneys for property crimes. But he also noted that Everett will host a 60-bed Housing First facility, modeled after Utah’s success at eliminating homelessness.

Klein added that the former Carnegie Library could be turned into a 20-bed transitional housing unit for those released from the county jail, and even pledged to press federal legislators on how it costs so much to convert buildings into support housing.

Arlington Mayor Barbara Tolbert followed that by confirming that the state has set aside an additional $38 million for mental health issues.

When asked whether he anticipated that the arrival of a planned 150-bed mental health hospital in Smokey Point would improve matters, Ventura allowed that it might in the long run, but probably not in the near term, given that it will be a private hospital.

Ventura confirmed that one out of every five heroin deaths in the state from 2011-13 happened in Snohomish County, which was why he and Tolbert urged citizens to contact their state legislators about this problem, as well as to report any suspicious activity they see on a local level.

“Even if it takes us a while, because we’re responding to other calls, we will follow up on it,” Ventura said. “Every one of those reports becomes a pin on a map, that we can take to the state and make the case that we need more money and other resources to fight this problem. Because one detox center with fifteen beds just isn’t going to cut it.”

Smokey Point Safeway employee Rob Jones, who had joined Tracey Goddard when she addressed the City Council in March about drug activity in and around their store, informed the audience that the Safeway was now “All-In” with the city’s crime prevention efforts.

However, Jones wondered how panhandling could not be illegal in Arlington, while Marysville has passed a law against it.

“Marysville based a lot of their ordinance on what we wrote up, but we wound up having to make concessions to the ACLU when they threatened a lawsuit,” Ventura said. “It varies from city to city. We passed an anti-camping ordinance, aimed at targeting homelessness, but I can point to six other cities in the region who were sued, and lost, for doing the same.”

When Vicki McMurray asserted that Smokey Point is more of a hot spot for problems than downtown Arlington, Ventura countered that this will change as the weather warms up.

“And folks, if you really want to see panhandling go away in these areas, stop giving these people your money,” K-9 Officer Mike Gilbert said. “I’ve talked to these people. They’re making hundreds of dollars a day, just standing on street corners, and if you think they’re using that money to feed themselves, you’re mistaken.”

Gilbert echoed Ventura’s praise for the generosity of the Arlington community, but urged them to redirect their monies toward organizations.

Ventura recalled that the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program fell out of favor at schools because it wasn’t delivering enough of a return on its investment, and deferred to Klein regarding the marijuana business that plans to set up shop on 188th Street.

Klein confirmed that the business has not been licensed yet, and when asked if marijuana is still considered a gateway drug, Ventura could only say, “Not according to the federal government.”

Ed Anglesey confessed to being “angry” over the fate of his community.

When he suggested that some drug addicts might need to be made “miserable” to help them kick their addictions, Weston High School Principal Will Nelson pointed out that this would run counter to the schools’ responsibilities.

Anglesey likewise expressed disappointment with what he saw as a lack of response by the Smokey Point businesses and the area chambers of commerce to the crimes being committed there.

“Other communities don’t put up with it, so why do we?” Anglesey said.

Ventura cited local businesses’ involvement in the state Organized Retain Crime Alliance as evidence that they’re not necessarily putting up with it.

“This lets them share information and learn what strategies are working for some, so that they can be adopted by others,” Ventura said. “My family shops at the Smokey Point Safeway. It doesn’t do me any good to lie to you about how much crime goes on here, because I live here too. If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at me, but my officers are working their tails off.”