Confronting the opiate epidemic head on at WPD - By Michelle Libby

Windham Police Department, headed by Chief Kevin Schofield, has been busy collaborating with
other departments, applying for grants and putting new programs in place that will help save lives in the crucial seconds before medical personnel can arrive on scene. From enforcement teams in the summer, to a grant that will provide money to train officers in a variety of mental health situations, Windham Police Department is treating the opiate epidemic as a serious issue that must be addressed now.

Enforcement

For two summers, the Windham Police Department has teamed up with Gorham Police Department to work with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) to focus attention on Windham and Gorham. 

“Drug trafficking is what we’re trying to uncover,” said Schofield. “Drugs are, particularly opiates, the biggest issue our society is facing. It affects so many different facets of the community.” 

The officers handed out possession charges and warrants for furnishing and trafficking in drugs. From mid-June to now officers made 22 cases, confiscating Suboxone, Fentanyl and other drugs. Nine cases were in Gorham and 13 were Windham cases. Many of the cases included Fentanyl brought here by people from the northeast region of Massachusetts, according to Schofield. In one case, nine fingers of Fentanyl was seized with the potential street value of $10,000.  The additional officers came from the school resource officers (SRO) that aren’t needed in the schools during the summer. 

“That’s one of the areas both communities and police departments sees as a need. We collaborate 

because an officer should not be out there on his own,” said Schofield. None of the cases were high level dealers. The goal wasn’t to generate cases, but to stop the flow of drugs into the two towns. The smaller cases are also how larger investigations are spawned, said the chief. 

“I speculate that the issue around drug use and opiate addiction disorders, struggles and issues are

very real in this area,” he added. 

Towns in the area all have similar numbers and programs when it comes to drug cases. Westbrook has a new Community Approach to Stopping Heroin (CASH) program dedicated to stopping the heroin and drug epidemic gripping that city. 

“We are always looking at if we are using our resources as effectively as we can. It’s been effective the last two summers,” Schofield said.

Narcan

In the last six months there have been five drug overdose deaths in Windham, according to Schofield. There has been an increase in pharmacy robberies, bank robberies, car thefts and burglaries and it can all trickle back into the drug problem in society. Schofield calls this significant. 

“There is a medical cost to the opiate abuse disorder. This opiate crisis is the biggest issue I’ve dealt with in my career,” he added. 

Part of the opiate and street drug problem stems from that street drugs are cheaper to get than Oxy drugs. Pharmacology made a change to the Oxy pills and at $1 per milligram, it’s more expensive than Heroine. 

Heroine is a “one and done” drug, meaning that try it once and a person will be addicted. The first experience with Heroine is usually snorting, not injecting, said Schofield. They can achieve a high, but the more they use, the more they look for a quicker high and transition into injecting it as their drug use progresses. 

“It’s risky,” Schofield said. “There’s no quality control with illicit drugs.” Since there is such a problem with drugs the police officers have begun carrying 4 mg doses of nasal spray Narcan, which is “a prescription medicine that blocks the effects of opioids and reverses an overdose. It cannot be used to get a person high. If given to a person who has not taken opioids, it will not have any effect on him or her, since there is no opioid overdose to reverse.” (stopoverdoseil.org)

Schofield describes that Narcan has an immediate reaction time. Within seconds someone who was not breathing or had no heartbeat become responsive. They can become combative because they immediately begin going through withdrawal symptoms, eliminating the euphoric effect.

The State of Maine’s Attorney General offered law enforcement the opportunity to receive free Narcan to use in emergency settings where seconds matter and EMS has not arrived. 

“We were asked one year ago. I said ‘yes’ even though we have trained EMTs and rescue. They do have Narcan, but our officers can be in the right place at the right time,” Schofield said. “In an opiate OD, time is of the essence.”

All officers were trained on the use of the Narcan. In the six weeks they have been carrying it two officers have used it in the field and saved two lives, said Schofield. All officers who carry Narcan have to do a report every time it is used for tracking purposes.

In other communities Narcan has been used five or six times on the same person. One save was the person’s eighth save over his lifetime. It’s a false safety net, according to Schofield. 

“We are strictly saving a life,” Schofield said. Not everyone is a repeat offender. He knows of people who were saved by Narcan and now work in recovery, helping others battle their addiction. 

“This is a human life. If someone is allergic to a bee sting, what are you going to do? Give him an EpiPen,” said Schofield. 

Windham Fire and Rescue also carry Narcan. They purchase 2 mg of Narcan for $56.99 per dose. “We can give more or less as need,” said Chief Brent Libby. “It’s one of those things like an AED or EpiPen. If we know what it is and we know that it works, it’s worth the cost. It’s life saving when we need it.”  

Grant

Windham Police Department as well as Westbrook, Gorham, Buxton and the Sherriff’s office have been awarded a grant through the State of Maine to help in carrying out projects designed to reduce substance use, substance use-related crimes and recidivism. Westbrook Police Chief Janine Roberts approached Schofield about the grant, which they were awarded earlier in the month. 

The plan is to hire a recovery liaison position to help identify persons and families of persons with opiate abuse disorder. They will check on how people are doing coming out of jail, help with treatment and employment opportunities. 

“The liaison will find resources for them to get the level of treatment they need to connect all the dots,” said Schofield. 

The grant will also pay for officers to become recovery coaches, giving them family crisis, Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) and mental health training. It also informs them about what types of resources are available for people they are helping. Recovery coaches refer and help the liaison meet with employment resources and opportunities. “The training gives us in law enforcement the options in the recovery field,” Schofield said. “There is a balance on how to deal with this. Back 20 years, the profession was forced into doing more and more and being responsible for mental health.” 

The goal is for officers to develop partnerships with groups that can help with programs and trainings, according to Schofield. “We have to come at this problem from a different perspective. It will decrease the police enforcement side. It’s much more problem solving than strictly enforcement,” he said. 

The Windham Police Department is in the process of hiring one officer this year to help with their efforts.

Presumpscot Regional Land Trust offers opportunity to explore the great outdoors

By Elizabeth Richards - A hearty group of outdoor enthusiasts came together on Maine Great Outdoors Weekend for an Animal Tracks program put on by the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust (PRLT).  On Saturday, February 13^th, the group met at the Hawkes Preserve in Gorham for a one-mile snowshoe around the new nature loop trail. 

Though the day was cold and windy, almost two dozen people gathered to take part in the program.  Master Naturalist Karen Herold and PRLT Executive Director Rachelle Curran Apse led the family-friendly trek, stopping frequently to discuss tracks in the snow and how to identify the wild creatures that had recently been traveling that path.

A wide variety of tracks showed evidence of the many creatures who share the land at the Hawkes Preserve, including mice, squirrels, deer, otter and mink.  The trail winds its way through the woods behind Great Falls Elementary School and along the Presumpscot River. 

The one-mile nature loop trail was developed in partnership with the school, said Curran Apse.  The school uses the trail with students in the spring and fall.  A pamphlet guide details six marked stops along the path.  The brochure offers a brief description of what visitors can expect to see at the stop, including the shoreline, specific trees and plants, and a small wetland area.     The Animal Tracks program was one of many events put on by the non-profit PRLT, which manages just over 1000 acres of land on 20 preserves in Presumpscot River Watershed.  The goal, said Curran Apse, is to offer a program every month, to get people out enjoying and learning more about nature. 

“We’re focused on finding, preserving and protecting open space for wildlife and for public recreation,” said Curran Apse.  This includes creating trails, and seven of the preserves are free and open to the public for recreation.  “We want people to get out and enjoy nature on them,” said Curran Apse.  “That’s why we’re doing more programs, to make sure people know about them.  We hope that after programs like this people come back on their own and keep enjoying them,” she said.

The PRLT is in their 30^th year as an organization, and has had many exciting new recent developments.  One is their closure on the Randall Orchard preserve.  This is a conservation easement, meaning that although the land is still privately owned by the Randall family the 500 acres will always be protected as farm and forest, and will never be subdivided. 

Their newest preserve is the Millbrook preserve in Westbrook. “What is really exciting about it is that  thanks to the dam being removed on the lower Presumpscot about a decade ago, migratory  alewife now come from the ocean up Millbrook to Highland Lake and spawn,” said Curran Apse.  “Putting a preserve on there and putting in a trail is going to allow people from the region to come and see this amazing migratory fish.”  Although a trail won’t be completed until this summer, a program is planned at the reserve for World Fish Migration Day on Saturday, May 21^st.   

The next PRLT program is a Presumpscot River History Walk at the Gambo Preserve in Gorham on Saturday, March 19^th.  Information about all events can be found on the organizations website, at www.prlt.org