Pubdate: Mon, 01 Feb 2016
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2016 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n052/a02.html
Author: Don Mathis

HOW TO REDUCE ADDICTION

Thank you for your humane, yet nononsense editorial that describes 
how law enforcement can work together with addiction treatment 
centers and programs ("Invitation to recovery," Jan. 27). The 
practice of inviting people with substance use disorders to come to a 
police station and get treatment is a cost-effective way to 
successfully tackle addiction. Lockup is not detox; being 
incarcerated in a cell does not provide the necessary clinical, 
therapeutic and spiritual needs that are essential for long-term recovery.

While some naysayers may think such a program is inappropriate for 
law enforcement, there is a positive history of police departments 
using unsworn officers or staff to handle these cases. Examples 
include victim assistance counselors, diversion program staff and 
others who provide the necessary human services that addicts and 
their families need to stay sober.

In the late 1980s, I worked as an unsworn employee for the Inglewood, 
Calif., police department. My role was to manage the juvenile 
diversion program for low-level offenders including those with 
first-time, nonviolent drug offenses. The department's police 
officers as well as the juvenile court judges saw the diversion 
program as "second chance" opportunities for these young adults. Like 
all programs, the results weren't perfect. But the significantly 
reduced costs to the taxpayers and the retrieved lives of those 
offenders made our efforts worthwhile.

Analogously, the Gloucester, Mass., Police Assisted Addiction 
Recovery Initiative and, if things go well, Baltimore's new Law 
Enforcement Assisted Diversion program will be models that all 
communities can tweak and adopt. Reducing and reversing the heroin 
and opioid epidemic requires an "all hands on deck" strategy.

Don Mathis, Havre de Grace The writer is director of alumni services 
for Father Martin's Ashley.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom