Snitchin’ in Augusta, Georgia

Augusta, Georgia, like many other American cities, is sharply divided along racial and economic lines. In the 1990s, the Augusta Police Department found itself battling the crack cocaine epidemic that turned at-risk kids into dangerous drug dealers. As these young dealers sought to get rich, the realization was a life of despair and danger from the competition, customers, and cops. As the nation fought a very public war on drugs, law enforcement officers faced their own pressure to make arrests and seizures. Ricky grew up poor. Drugs were always around, and dealing was the only life he ever knew. As he worked to move up the ladder as a dealer, my career was advancing toward becoming a narcotics detective. In a life full of danger and loss, Ricky was forced to make one tough decision after another. Narcotics detectives see dealers like Ricky as both targets and tools, and they are willing to use what some may think are questionable tactics to persuade him and other reluctant informants to cooperate.