HUNTINGTON, W.Va (WSAZ)--Police and people living in drug infested neighborhoods in Huntington often complain of drug dealers doing little, if any time in jail.

While some of the big time players, who get support from kingpins in other states, are quickly bailed out-- even with a high bond.

But others, especially non-violent offenders, have much lower bond that's usually easy to cover.

There are no hard and fast rules. It really varies from case to case.

In our Cover Story, how your vote for magistrate can have a big impact on the local drug trade.

Robin Rogers and her friends couldn't have been happier when police swept through their neighborhood along 8th Avenue and 5th Street in Huntington, rounding up people they believe are heavily into drugs. Robin says it's been a problem since she moved in.

After they're arrested and charged with whatever drug offense they may face, a person is taken to the courthouse, where magistrates say they're seeing more and more of these cases day after day and year after year in Cabell County.

Former Huntington police officer Darrell Black is generally regarded, especially by police officers, as one of the tougher magistrates in the county. He says there's a reason why he often sets higher bonds for crimes like car theft and small scale robberies.

As local officers gather for events like last week's police memorial service, they're reminded how a difficult and dangerous job can be even worse when people arrested in busts like this are sometimes allowed to sign themselves out on bond with little or no cash.

The rules governing magistrate court are set by state lawmakers. And those rules give a lot of leeway to individual magistrates, requiring them to carefully examine each case and set appropriate bond.

What one magistrate in West Virginia sees as reasonable may be completely different than the magistrate in the next office.

Magistrates say there's a big difference between drug dealers and simple drug users, especially first time offenders.

So when neighbors watch police haul away a couple of dozen people, and some of them are back on the street later that day, they may very well be users -- not dealers.