Detective Gary Francis has seen a lot during his career as a narcotics investigator in Philadelphia – a career that has spanned nearly three decades.
“When I started, drug dealers had a guy standing on the corner holding the drugs, they had the lookout, they had the guy guarding the money, and they were using people all in the same area,” said Francis, a member of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office Dangerous Drug Offenders Unit (DDOU). “It was easy to figure out the operation.”
Francis entered the field of narcotics in 1996 with the Philadelphia Police Department, before the proliferation of cell phones and well before everyone had doorbell cameras. After more than 20 years, Francis left the police department and joined the District Attorney’s Office in 2015 following a brief stint with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
Now at the end of a long, decorated career, Francis is set to retire in December and enter a new chapter.
“I was always kind of a stickler for uniforms,” said the Army veteran when asked why he pursued a career in law enforcement.
It didn’t take long for Francis to climb the ranks in the police department, thanks in part to his resourcefulness and desire to learn. Within DDOU, Francis’ unit is part of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force. The unit’s collaboration with federal investigators follows up on information and tips from confidential informants, the public, and other investigations.
“Narcotics is kind of the bridge to the street, and when you keep your ear to the street it can lead to other things,” he said.
Francis spends most of his time conducting surveillance on suspects or executing search warrants. He has witnessed the evolution of the drug trade from marijuana and cocaine to heroine and other opioids, and seen criminal tactics graduate from low-tech lookouts to using baby monitors and car alarms.
“All of these things were intriguing to me, to come up with a way to combat or stay ahead of the drug dealers,” he said. “I’ve been to trainings all over the country and I’ve always taken an interest in what other departments are doing. You can take a piece of what somebody else does and put it into your repertoire and be successful with it.”
Francis’ training and decades of experience have qualified him as a narcotics expert in court. He has testified in dozens of cases, something he calls an underrated part of the job.
“Testifying about what you did and what you saw is one of the most important things you can do in narcotics because you’re taking something that happened undercover on the street to a court and convincing them what you saw really happened,” he explained.
In addition to being able to provide for his family, Francis is most proud of the quiet thank-yous and nods he’s gotten from residents after an arrest has reduced drug activity in their neighborhood.
Officially, he will retire with 33 years and 9 months of service. His retirement date – Dec. 12 – is significant for other reasons: it comes about two weeks before his 62nd birthday and one day before the anniversary of his dad’s passing. Francis said his next chapter will either involve teaching or working part-time in law enforcement.
“When it’s time to go, it’s time to go,” he said.