The California Central Valley city of Stockton has been a poster child for the Great Recession, infamous for its housing developments filled with foreclosed homes, its tent cities along the San Joaquin River, and its horrendous 20% unemployment rate. As joblessness soared and the Central Valley economy withered, so did Stockton and its municipal finances.

Faced with a grinding municipal budget crisis, the city last year laid off 29 police officers. Last month, it laid off 26 more, putting a $3.2 million dent in its $23 million budget deficit. In response, the Stockton Police Department announced Wednesday that it could no longer man its dope squad.

"We absolutely do not have any narcotics officers, narcotics sergeants working any kind of investigative narcotics type cases at this point in time," Officer Pete Smith told Sacramento's Fox40-TV.