Police take new approach as drug overdose incidents

Berkley Public Safety is joining with Families Against Narcotics to aid those struggling with opioid and other drug dependencies as overdose cases increase nationwide.

Linda Davis, a former Macomb County judge and executive director of FAN, joined with Public Safety Director Matt Koehn and others this week in announcing a Comeback Quick Response Team in Berkley.

The three-member team of a plainclothes officer, and certified peer and family recovery coaches will follow up within 72 hours at the home where first responders have been called for a drug overdose.

Their mission is to make contact with the person who overdosed and their family and connect them with treatment and other resources.

“We think this is a great tool for our families and residents,” Koehn said, adding first responders are regularly called for overdose emergencies. “With some calls, we are called to the same places sometimes 15 to 20 times a year.”

Davis’ group several years ago started a program through police departments called Hope Not Handcuffs, where people with drug abuse problems can go to police and gain access to treatment. Berkley is also joining that program starting next month.

The new response teams are a way of bringing that service to homes of those who have overdosed.

“We know the rate of drug overdoses is increasing 40 percent,” Davis said. “And it is anticipated there will be a 20 percent increase in (overdose) deaths.”

Berkley is the ninth police department statewide to join with FAN and set up a quick response team. Ten more police departments in Michigan are expected to join in the next few months, Davis added.

In Oakland County, response teams have been established in Ferndale and Waterford. The effort got underway last year but was slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Davis said.

“Only 10 percent of those struggling with substance use disorders are getting the help they need,” said Erin Whitkoph, director of the COMEBACK Quick Response Team program for FAN.

Reasons for the jump in overdose cases and substance abuse during the pandemic include job loss, isolation and loss of daily routines, Whitkoph said.

As a former judge, Davis said she has seen how only arresting rather than treating drug users has failed.

“It’s a revolving door … and it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars,” she said. “Many officers, like those in Berkley, want to go the extra mile” and make drug treatment available.

Davis compared the quick response effort to a social service program in the living rooms of those who’ve overdosed.

Berkley Detective Lt. Andrew Hadfield has seen four people lose their lives to heroin over the years in the city. He often first came into contact with them during their teen years.

“As officers we’ve tried to make use of the court system, but sometimes that’s not enough,” Hadfield said.

Response teams work with those who have had a drug overdose and their families. The team offers compassionate support, help in getting recovery services and community resources.

FAN’s response teams started last year as a pilot program with Sterling Heights police and expanded to include other communities such as Ferndale, Allen Park, Midland, Roseville, Saginaw and Taylor.

So far, the teams have made 536 home visits and offered support and resources to 337 families, according to FAN.