‘We have a public health crisis on our hands’: MPD responding to heroin epidemic

Josh Spreiter by Josh Spreiter

Copyright 2019 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Madison police responded to 83 heroin overdoses from April through June. That’s a 102-percent increase from that time last year. Officials fear this number is likely higher in the city.

These new figures refer to “known” overdoses. Officials tell News 3 it is likely many overdoses are occurring right now without any report to MPD or MFD. Experts say this epidemic isn’t going away.

17 people died by overdose in the last 3 months. That’s a 467-percent increase over the second quarter of 2017.

Accessibility is a big factor for the increase, according to police. Along with ease of access, police believe the increased purity of heroin and the combination of fentanyl and heroin are contributing factors to this increase.

Police ask that if you know anyone that has a problem to get them some help right away.

One of the programs working to stop the epidemic is the Madison Addiction Recovery Initiative, or MARI. Under MARI, MPD officers are able to offer many users the opportunity for treatment, rather than arrest. If they choose treatment, they will be connected with an intake counselor. Officials say any little things they can do to help may just save a life.

“We need to do something rather than continuing to arrest and jail people because that doesn’t seem to be fixing the problem. This is what we’re doing for now as it’s had success in other communities around the country,” said MARI Coordinator Bernie Albright. “We’re confident it’s going to work. We’re still tweaking it and trying to get more people into the program and get them some help so they’re not overdosing and potentially dying in the future.”

Albright says his department is always available to take self-referral calls.

Madison police will present their second quarter report at the common council meeting Tuesday night. Officials hope to shed some light on a problem that’s certainly not going away.

COPYRIGHT 2020 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.