This editorial appears in the Sept. 29, 2009, Yakima Herald-Republic.

New approaches to nabbing drug traffickers and other serious criminals are always welcome, but they need to be considered cautiously. Too often, a new strategy may end up creating more problems than it solves.

We hope that is not the case with a pilot program that was tested by the city of Yakima's police department that sent officers on patrols along state highways far from the city limits.

Under the program, which ended last week, several officers were dispatched to such areas as Interstate 82 near the Yakima Training Center and along U.S. Highway 97 south of Toppenish. To prepare for the patrols, these officers underwent training in what is called criminal interdiction, which teaches them how to spot suspicious activities on heavily traveled highways -- like erratic driving or vehicles modified to carry large quantities of drugs.

While it's rare that city police departments patrol outside their jurisdictions, commissioned officers are allowed to work anywhere within the state. Yakima police took the necessary step of receiving a thumbs up for the program from the Washington State Patrol, which is responsible for surveillance of state highways.

It's no secret that criminals are highly mobile, and stopping them before they reach city limits is a great way to protect Yakima's residents.

However, Yakima's police department needs to keep a close eye on what has taken place inside the city during these outward-bound patrols. Have the nature and incidents of crime inside the city limits changed? Not too long ago, extra officers were put on the street to combat gang violence. We don't want to have a situation where these anti-gang efforts suffer.

And while officials say the added patrols will not cost the city any additional money, that too needs to be monitored closely.

The collapse of the joint Yakima City-County Narcotics Unit earlier this year makes these new approaches to halting such criminals as drug traffickers all the more necessary. We want to make sure, though, that the city conducts a thorough and candid assessment of these patrols before making the program permanent.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.