POWER OF PREVENTION
Police initiative to help with treatment for substance abuse
NORRISTOWN >> As they continue to fight the scourge of the opioid epidemic, Montgomery County police officers, prosecutors and drug treatment officials joined forces with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General to launch a program to help those suffering from substance use disorder obtain addiction treatment.
“This program will work on the addiction side of the equation, getting help for those that are fighting substance use disorder, using one of our best community resources, our police officers. Today is about prevention. Today is about saving lives and protecting futures. Today is about making a difference in people’s lives,” county District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said Thursday as officials unveiled the Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative (LETI) during a news briefing attended by more than two dozen state and local law enforcement officials.
The LETI program will allow county residents suffering from substance use disorders to seek addiction treatment in two ways. Residents can present themselves at a local police department and ask for help or they can be informed about the program and be referred to it
by a police officer as a diversion from arrest or prosecution.
County residents are eligible for the program if they face arrest for simple possession of controlled substances or drug paraphernalia or other misdemeanor crimes such as theft, criminal mischief, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct which are often fueled by drug addictions.
Individuals facing more serious drug trafficking charges or violent offenses will not be eligible for the program.
When someone presents
themselves to police or if a person facing arrest is eligible, police officers will facilitate the person’s immediate entry into treatment through a referral to Gaudenzia, the organization that provides treatment through a partnership with the Montgomery County Office of Drug and Alcohol.
After an intake interview by Gaudenzia staff, the person seeking treatment can be provided transportation by police to a treatment facility.
Officials said the primary goal of the program is to reduce deaths, overdoses and crime associated with substance use disorders. The program, officials said, can also strengthen police-community relationships by encouraging those suffering from addiction to reach out to police for help and can reduce the stigma of substance use disorder.
“In Montgomery County, in this last year alone, 257 people lost their lives to overdoses. We’ve seen far too many families ravaged by the addiction and crushed by the overdose death of a loved one. Too many people are dying,” Steele said.
“This is another avenue to help those suffering from substance use disorder and help their families by working to get them the treatment they need. Immediate referrals to treatment will save lives and, in some cases, save the addicted individual from a criminal record,” Steele added about the program.
Assistant District Attorney Cara McMenamin, captain of the county’s treatment courts, will oversee the initiative in the county.
The Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative program was developed in 2018 by the state attorney general’s office and Montgomery County is the tenth county to launch the program. Berks and Delaware counties previously launched similar programs.
“We cannot make strides toward addressing the opioid epidemic without a coalition of partners dedicated and working together to address this crisis,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. “As we continue to combat the opioid epidemic in Pennsylvania, giving individuals access to the treatment they need will save lives and make our communities safer.
“We cannot arrest our way out of this crisis. And know this, drug addiction is a disease, not a crime,” Shapiro added.
Last year, Shapiro said, 4,715 people statewide died of a drug overdose. During the last five years, 1,030 people died of overdoses in Montgomery County, officials said.
The initiative focuses on accessibility.
“Sometimes people suffering don’t know where to turn or they don’t know who they can trust for help. People suffering substance use disorder may be ashamed and may be hiding it from their families. They may not have access to the internet to find facilities,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro said law enforcers involved in the initiative have a very simple message: “Turn to us for help.”
Montgomery Township Police Chief J. Scott Bendig, who is also president of the Montgomery County Police Chiefs Association, called the program a “game-changer.”
“While we have worked very hard to overcome one public health crisis these past 13 months, a second battle wages on. We continue to fight the growing epidemic of addiction here in Montgomery County,” Bendig said. “The LETI program is a gamechanger, stemming the tide of addiction, providing our officers a muchneeded resource, a resource that can help us reduce deaths, overdoses and crimes associated with this epidemic by getting treatment for those in need as quick and as efficiently as possible. The LETI program will save lives in Montgomery County.”
Stephen J. Forzato, a former county detective who is now the director of the Center for Addiction and Recovery Education (CARE) at Saint Joseph’s University, and former county prosecutor Tonya Lupinacci will collaborate to train police officers how to link people to treatment.
Linda Moore-Singleton, administrator of the Montgomery County Office of Drug and Alcohol, supported the initiative and the collaboration between law enforcement and drug and alcohol treatment providers. The office will provide the funding for the treatment for those who qualify.
“We want to make sure that the goal is to provide many resources to the people in this community. It truly takes stakeholders, that is, every individual living, working and communing in this community to help in this effort. It is all about our community,” said Moore-Singleton, adding “anything is possible when you have the right people to support you.”
Robert H. Lefevre, a Norristown lawyer who is in long-term recovery, praised the initiative.
“Coming into recovery was a life-changing event for me. What matters is that the person hears the message at the time they’re ready to hear it and I think this program is an excellent opportunity because law enforcement, who are on the ground and encounter people in the middle of what they’re doing, they have the opportunity then to talk to them,” Lefevre said.