Saying no to drugs in North Merrick

"Just like on the Long Island Rail Road -- if you see something, say something," Nassau County Police Department Sgt. Mike O'Mara urged residents at a North Merrick Community Association special presentation on drug use in the area on Wednesday.

Police agreed to address the civic group after members expressed concerns about finding drug paraphernalia and observing marijuana use throughout North Merrick, in particular near Calhoun High School.

According to police, two drug arrests were made in North Merrick in the last month, one on Jerusalem Avenue and one near Loines Avenue, though no drug activity was reported near Calhoun.

But illegal drug use is a harder crime to identify than others that may are more easily observed, such as, say, drunken driving, O'Mara said.

"The only time I know about drugs, really, is when I make an arrest," O'Mara said, encouraging people to call police whenever suspicions are aroused.

Drug use in the 1st Precinct, which includes North Merrick, North Bellmore, East Meadow, Uniondale, Roosevelt, South Hempstead, Baldwin and Baldwin Harbor, is being combated with a combination of undercover and uniformed police patrols and use of new unmarked vehicles, designed to be harder to detect.

North Merrick residents who suspect illegal drug use in their area are encouraged to call the Problem Oriented Police unit at (516) 573-6170.

Comments about this story? SZeidler@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.