MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Police Department (MLPD) announced on Thursday that a drug detective from Grant County’s Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team (INET) will be temporarily reassigned to the MLPD.

MLPD Chief Kevin Fuhr explained one MLPD detective has been assigned to INET to assist with drug investigations in the county. As a department the MLPD has been involved with INET on and off for over 20 years.

“While INET does an outstanding job with drug investigations throughout the county, I feel that at this time MLPD needs to maximize our effectiveness within the city. In doing so I am temporarily reassigning the INET detective back to the MLPD investigative division to assist with MLPD investigations,” Fuhr said.

The detective will begin the reassignment on Jan. 1. With the recent uptick in crimes in the city, Fuhr said the investigation division will be able to better handle their increased workload, and conduct more “proactive” investigations, with the reassignment of the detective.

“These proactive investigations include drugs, property crimes, society crimes and other areas of focus as crime trends change. The detectives will also be able to focus attention on those ‘prolific’ criminals within our community,” Fuhr explained.

The reassignment is in tune with the MLPD’s Strategic Plan, which lists department goals of reducing criminal activity, enhancing the work environment, sustaining the community’s trust in the department and increasing the department’s effectiveness and efficiency.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.