Program targets heroin epidemic
Police, prosectors join forces to educate at-risk drug offenders
NORRISTOWN >> As law enforcement officials combat the heroin epidemic gripping the region, Montgomery County prosecutors and Lower Providence police joined forces to unveil a pilot program to educate at-risk drug offenders about the dangers of drug use.
Known as the Drug Education and Abuse Prevention initiative, the voluntary program for 18- to 26-year-olds arrested for non-violent, minor drug possession charges hopes to deter offenders from escalating their drug use and to prevent more serious arrests that often accompany drug addiction and lead to criminal records.
“We really want to educate them about the dangers of using drugs and how it can put them on a path toward heavy addiction and overdose and death down the road,” said county Deputy District Attorney Samantha Cauffman. “The target audience for this program is that group of individuals who don’t have heavy criminal records yet, who are non-violent offenders, and who still have the opportunity to choose a differ-
“Our hope is to provide at-risk young adults with the knowledge and desire to avoid future drug use or drug addiction.”
ent path, one that’s not going to lead them through the criminal justice system and the life of addiction and through a lot of hardship.”
Those eligible for the program include young people who are charged with possession of a small amount of illegal drugs or those who have previously been arrested or whose convictions are for underage drinking, minor drug cases or minor theft cases.
During participation in the program, the offender’s criminal case will be suspended and participants will not be arrested, which means they will not be processed or fingerprinted and no criminal record will be created as long as they successfully complete the program.
Criminal records, even for minor offenses, can often hinder young people searching for jobs or applying to colleges.
“The drug epidemic we are facing is widespread across Montgomery County and overdose deaths are growing. We cannot simply arrest our way of out of this epidemic,” District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said on Thursday. “Fighting it requires innovative approaches on multiple fronts to try to stem the progression from low-level drug use to heroin use and a potential overdose down the road. Our hope is that this program will save young people from going down that path and protect their futures.”
During a public presentation in January, Steele revealed about 240 county residents died from drugrelated causes in 2016, an increase over 2015 figures when 177 people died of drug-related causes. Steele has made fighting the opioid and heroin epidemic one of his office’s top priorities.
Participants in the pilot program will meet with
“We’re hoping to get these individuals before they’ve started down that path toward addiction. We’re hoping to arm them with the skills and the knowledge to avoid that path altogether.” — Montgomery County Deputy District Attorney Samantha Cauffman
“The drug epidemic we are facing is widespread across Montgomery County and overdose deaths are growing. We cannot simply arrest our way of out of this epidemic.” — Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R.
Lower Providence Police Lieutenant Michael Jackson, Cauffman and District Court Judge Cathleen Kelly Rebar and will undergo a drug and alcohol assessment. Participants will attend drug abuse prevention presentations provided by professionals and counselors in the addiction field and recovering addicts who are partnering with law enforcement in the program.
A presentation on the medical consequences of drug use will be provided by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office and participants also will observe Judge Steven T. O’Neill’s Drug Treatment Court.
“We’re going to work with the participants. We want them to succeed,” Cauffman said. “We’re hoping to get these individuals before they’ve started down that path toward addiction. We’re hoping to arm them with the skills and the knowledge to avoid that path altogether.”
Participants will be subject to random drug testing and must remain drugfree and arrest-free during the program and for six months following completion of all requirements.
If a participant drops out of the program, is dismissed from the program or fails to remain drugfree, they will be arrested and prosecuted on the original charges.
“Our hope is to provide at-risk young adults with the knowledge and desire to avoid future drug use or drug addiction,” said Lower Providence Police Chief Stanley M. Turtle.
Officials estimated that about 10 criminal cases a month will qualify for the program. If the program proves successful in Lower Providence officials will look for partners to expand it to other jurisdictions in the county, according to Cauffman, the district attorney’s liaison to the program.
Cauffman praised Jackson for developing the idea and finding partners for the program. Jackson will review case files and recommend potential participants for the program.
Drug and alcohol addiction does not discriminate by age, race, gender or socioeconomic status, Cauffman said.
During the last several years, county public safety, medical, public health, education and law enforcement officials have launched numerous initiatives to battle drug abuse and to raise awareness, including: establishing an overdose task force; implementing a program that makes Naloxone, the overdose-reversing drug, available to police departments, emergency medical responders, pharmacies and families at risk of an overdose; establishing a drug treatment court; and sponsoring prescription drug disposal programs.