CARMEL, Calif.-   Brand new drugs as strong as meth, smuggled from across the world, are now cropping up on the Central Coast.  We told you about the big khat bust earlier this month in Seaside. 

It's new discoveries like that one, making police departments on the Monterey Peninsula form a team, to keep up with the criminals and their new games.  On Thursday we learned, cities are doing it for cheap.   

PRVNT, in other words "prevent".  That acronym is important because the Peninsula Regional Violence and Narcotics Team is all about staying ahead of the bad guys.  But they'll have to do it smartly this time.  That's because in 2009, Peninsula police departments lost their joint task force coverage with Salinas and the rest of the county after state budget cuts.   

MONTEREY - In an ongoing effort to provide excellent service to the community, the Monterey Police Department will be hosting a Community Policing Town Hall Meeting. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 2nd at 6:30 p.m. at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.  The meeting will take place inside the Irvine Auditorium at 399 Pierce Street.

The program will feature the presentation, Monterey After Midnight, Controlling Alcohol Crimes on the Peninsula, presented by Monterey Police Lieutenant Jeff Jackson, Associate Planner Todd Bennett and California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Agent Marsha Ferguson.