Massachusetts Police Program That Provides Treatment for Heroin Users Catches On

Police departments around the country are starting programs based on one created in Gloucester, Massachusetts earlier this year that provides treatment for people who come to the police station with illegal drugs and paraphernalia, instead of arresting them.

Police in Gloucester say dozens of departments in nine states–Connecticut, Ohio, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont—have begun similar programs, the Associated Press reports.

The program shows signs of reducing crimes associated with addiction. Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello says this summer, shoplifting, breaking and entering and larceny dropped 23 percent in his town, compared with last summer.

“We are seeing real people get their lives back,” Campanello said. “And if we see a reduction in crime and cost savings that is a great bonus.”

People who are addicted to drugs can come to the police station to be connected with a treatment program, if they promise to stop using drugs. They are assigned a volunteer “angel” who works with them.

The department has spent about $13,750 on the program so far, Campanello said. The program is funded with money seized in drug arrests. More than 260 people have been placed in treatment since the program began.

John Rosenthal, co-founder of Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative, a nonprofit that helps police departments adopt Gloucester’s program, said departments usually adopt some, but not all, of Gloucester’s ANGEL program. Some distribute the drug-overdose antidote naloxone for free, while others use the program’s network of more than 50 addiction treatment centers across the nation.

“We’re absolutely, unequivocally thrilled by the reception of this program by law enforcement,” Rosenthal said. “Police chiefs are recognizing we can’t arrest our way out of this, that this is a disease and not a crime and that people suffering from this disease need treatment, not jail.”