Eric Hartley: As drug dealers shift, the police get smarter

The violence associated with the drug trade in Annapolis has dropped precipitously, with violent crimes down 36 percent so far this year.

But the drug trade hasn't gone away. In many cases, it has simply moved inside, as city police told residents at a public meeting last week.

"It means less violence on the streets, which is a good thing," said police Chief Michael Pristoop. "But it's still a problem."

That's the definition of "a good problem."

For years, police were able to make relatively easy arrests in the city's public housing neighborhoods, where open-air drug...