Pubdate: Wed, 11 Jan 2017 Source: Herald News (West Paterson, NJ) Copyright: 2017 North Jersey Media Group Inc. Contact: http://www.northjersey.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2911 Author: Allison Pries (The Record) HEROIN BUSTS COME WITH AN OFFER OF DETOX TO HELP BREAK CYCLE OF ADDICTION One is a former nurse. Another used to be in law enforcement. There were a recruiter and a graphic designer. Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal and Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino at the press conference on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016. They were among 40 people arrested this week in an investigation led by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office to combat the area's "staggering" heroin epidemic. This time, after arresting the alleged users for drug possession, detectives offered them help -- the chance to enter a five-day detox program run by Bergen County Regional Medical Center. Twelve people accepted. Acting Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced details of the initiative Thursday in a midday news conference at the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office. A handful of detectives who participated lined one wall of the conference room. Grewal stood behind a lectern, flanked by Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino, Bergen County Executive James Tedesco and Michael Paolello, executive director of the Evergreen Treatment Center at Bergen Regional Medical Center. Grewal said the task force, dubbed Operation Helping Hand, was the "first of its kind" in New Jersey, and perhaps the country. The joint law-enforcement and public-health initiative was a collaboration between the Prosecutor's Office, the Bergen County sheriff, the Bergen County executive and the medical center. "It's our hope that by at least having this option open for them to enter into a detox bed that they can then transition into long-term treatment," Grewal said. Grewal, a former federal prosecutor, said that after being sworn in last January as acting Bergen County prosecutor it was "eye opening" when he began receiving daily reports about overdoses and the deployment of Narcan, a drug used by law enforcement to counteract the effects of heroin during an overdose. "I don't know another way to put it," Grewal said. "The problem is overwhelming and it's staggering. And it's forced us to do things that we don't ordinarily do as law enforcement officers." So far this year, 158 heroin or opioid-related overdoses have been reported, with 48 being fatal. In 2015, 231 overdoses were reported, and 87 of them were fatal. Narcan was deployed by police 187 times in 2015, saving 170 lives. In 2016 Narcan has been used 137 times, saving 124 lives. The municipalities hit the hardest with overdoses in 2015 were Garfield with 23, Lyndhurst with 20, Fort Lee and Lodi, both with 15, and Cliffside Park with 14. "There is no pocket of Bergen County that's immune from what's happening," Grewal said. Grewal said he knew this wasn't a problem law enforcement could arrest its way out of. "But we need to arrest people to get intelligence," Grewal said. Where is heroin being sold, who's selling it, how much does it cost and where are dealers doing transactions? "We need to address heroin in the county not just as a law enforcement problem but a public health problem as well aE& to break that cycle of arrest, overdose, Narcan save, overdose, arrest, fatality that we continue to see," Grewal said. "If we can get one person out of that cycle aE& that's success." Over the last several months, as Operation Helping Hand got under way, detox beds were set aside while law enforcement arrested users and targeted areas where heroin is sold. Two shifts of detectives set out on Sunday, and in the days since, to known open-air drug markets around North Jersey and focused on users who were bringing heroin back to Bergen County. A total of 40 people, all but three of whom live in Bergen County, were stopped and arrested for possession of drugs, issued summonses and told of the available beds at Bergen Regional. Detectives then drove them to the hospital if they chose that option. "It wasn't in lieu of a criminal charge," Grewal said. "We made it very clear to these individuals that they were going to be charged and they were going to go through the criminal justice system" but help for their addiction was available if they wanted it. Operation Helping Hand was expected to last until today, and fill 10 beds at Bergen Regional. But it concluded Thursday when every bed that was set aside was taken, plus another bed that became available. A 12th person, a woman, is in the detox unit at the Bergen County Jail. "This initiative was so successful that we ran out of beds before we could conclude our program," Grewal said. Officials could not identify which of the 40 people arrested elected to go to detox because of privacy laws. Most of those arrested are unemployed. Some work as carpenters, electricians and masons. Several have served in the military. And they range in age from 21 to 58. Officers picked them up after they traveled the Route 21 corridor from Newark, or from Paterson or Passaic to allegedly obtain drugs, Grewal said. The arrests were made in Elmwood Park (15), Fair Lawn (10), Hackensack (3), Rutherford (2), Saddle Brook (2), Englewood (1), Lyndhurst (1), Maywood (1), Montvale (1), Paramus (1), Ridgefield (1), Waldwick (1) and Wallington (1). The sheriff said the number of arrests weren't important. "It's a quality-of-life issue," Saudino said. "It's getting help to those who need the help. There are a lot of people who want help but don't know how to get it." Tedesco announced that Bergen Regional, which is owned by the county but privately run, will add eight more medical detox beds in the next couple of weeks, bringing its capacity to 82 beds -- more than any other facility in the state. The additional beds will be reassigned from other areas of the hospital where they are not being used. "This represents another positive step in our collective fight against the heroin and opioid epidemic," Tedesco said. Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal and Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino at the press conference on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016. One is a former nurse. Another used to be in law enforcement. There were a recruiter and a graphic designer. They were among 40 people arrested this week in an investigation led by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office to combat the area's "staggering" heroin epidemic. This time, after arresting the alleged users for drug possession, detectives offered them help -- the chance to enter a five-day detox program run by Bergen County Regional Medical Center. Twelve people accepted. Acting Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced details of the initiative Thursday in a midday news conference at the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office. A handful of detectives who participated lined one wall of the conference room. Grewal stood behind a lectern, flanked by Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino, Bergen County Executive James Tedesco and Michael Paolello, executive director of the Evergreen Treatment Center at Bergen Regional Medical Center. Grewal said the task force, dubbed Operation Helping Hand, was the "first of its kind" in New Jersey, and perhaps the country. The joint law-enforcement and public-health initiative was a collaboration between the Prosecutor's Office, the Bergen County sheriff, the Bergen County executive and the medical center. "It's our hope that by at least having this option open for them to enter into a detox bed that they can then transition into long-term treatment," Grewal said. Grewal, a former federal prosecutor, said that after being sworn in last January as acting Bergen County prosecutor it was "eye opening" when he began receiving daily reports about overdoses and the deployment of Narcan, a drug used by law enforcement to counteract the effects of heroin during an overdose. "I don't know another way to put it," Grewal said. "The problem is overwhelming and it's staggering. And it's forced us to do things that we don't ordinarily do as law enforcement officers." So far this year, 158 heroin or opioid-related overdoses have been reported, with 48 being fatal. In 2015, 231 overdoses were reported, and 87 of them were fatal. Narcan was deployed by police 187 times in 2015, saving 170 lives. In 2016 Narcan has been used 137 times, saving 124 lives. The municipalities hit the hardest with overdoses in 2015 were Garfield with 23, Lyndhurst with 20, Fort Lee and Lodi, both with 15, and Cliffside Park with 14. "There is no pocket of Bergen County that's immune from what's happening," Grewal said. Grewal said he knew this wasn't a problem law enforcement could arrest its way out of. "But we need to arrest people to get intelligence," Grewal said. Where is heroin being sold, who's selling it, how much does it cost and where are dealers doing transactions? "We need to address heroin in the county not just as a law enforcement problem but a public health problem as well aE& to break that cycle of arrest, overdose, Narcan save, overdose, arrest, fatality that we continue to see," Grewal said. "If we can get one person out of that cycle aE& that's success." Over the last several months, as Operation Helping Hand got under way, detox beds were set aside while law enforcement arrested users and targeted areas where heroin is sold. Two shifts of detectives set out on Sunday, and in the days since, to known open-air drug markets around North Jersey and focused on users who were bringing heroin back to Bergen County. A total of 40 people, all but three of whom live in Bergen County, were stopped and arrested for possession of drugs, issued summonses and told of the available beds at Bergen Regional. Detectives then drove them to the hospital if they chose that option. "It wasn't in lieu of a criminal charge," Grewal said. "We made it very clear to these individuals that they were going to be charged and they were going to go through the criminal justice system" but help for their addiction was available if they wanted it. Operation Helping Hand was expected to last until today, and fill 10 beds at Bergen Regional. But it concluded Thursday when every bed that was set aside was taken, plus another bed that became available. A 12th person, a woman, is in the detox unit at the Bergen County Jail. "This initiative was so successful that we ran out of beds before we could conclude our program," Grewal said. Officials could not identify which of the 40 people arrested elected to go to detox because of privacy laws. Most of those arrested are unemployed. Some work as carpenters, electricians and masons. Several have served in the military. And they range in age from 21 to 58. Officers picked them up after they traveled the Route 21 corridor from Newark, or from Paterson or Passaic to allegedly obtain drugs, Grewal said. The arrests were made in Elmwood Park (15), Fair Lawn (10), Hackensack (3), Rutherford (2), Saddle Brook (2), Englewood (1), Lyndhurst (1), Maywood (1), Montvale (1), Paramus (1), Ridgefield (1), Waldwick (1) and Wallington (1). The sheriff said the number of arrests weren't important. "It's a quality-of-life issue," Saudino said. "It's getting help to those who need the help. There are a lot of people who want help but don't know how to get it." Tedesco announced that Bergen Regional, which is owned by the county but privately run, will add eight more medical detox beds in the next couple of weeks, bringing its capacity to 82 beds -- more than any other facility in the state. The additional beds will be reassigned from other areas of the hospital where they are not being used. "This represents another positive step in our collective fight against the heroin and opioid epidemic," Tedesco said. - --- MAP posted-by: