Pubdate: Sun, 15 Jun 2014
Source: Post-Star, The ( NY)
Copyright: 2014 Glens Falls Newspapers Inc.
Contact: http://www.poststar.com/app/contact/?form=letter
Website: http://www.poststar.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1068
Author: Don Lehman
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

HEROIN SPURS RISE IN CRIMES

The 2011 bank robbery spree gripped the region for weeks.

One after another, banks around eastern New York and western Vermont 
were being robbed by a man and woman who brazenly walked into them, 
handed tellers notes that bore threats and made off with thousands of 
dollars in cash.

They hit a TD Bank branch in Granville twice in a matter of days, and 
five banks in a span of weeks.

The holdups ended Nov. 2, 2011, minutes after the couple robbed a 
bank in nearby Poultney, Vermont.

When police figured out who the modern-day Bonnie and Clyde were, 
they found two heroin addicts who spent the more than $10,000 they 
stole on heroin.

The rise in heroin use around the region in recent years has resulted 
in a significant increase in crime being committed by addicts who, 
like John Maynard and Jill Ludwig, are looking to support their habits.

Many of the home burglaries, shoplifting arrests and thefts of scrap 
metal in the area are perpetrated by addicts looking for money to buy 
heroin. Some users turn to prostitution.

Police have seen heroin users steal many things in recent years.

Two Washington County men took nearly $200,000 worth of gold coins 
from an elderly acquaintance last year, then sold the coins and used 
the proceeds to buy heroin. Others have done tens of thousands of 
dollars worth of damage to vacant homes by cutting pipes to sell as 
scrap metal.

"Heroin addicts will do anything they can to get it," Warren County 
sheriff's Sgt. Tony Breen said. "They will steal from whoever they can."

While overall crime reports have generally dropped across the region 
and state in recent years, property crimes such as theft and burglary 
in Warren and Washington counties have been on the rise. Drug arrests 
in Warren and Saratoga counties have more than doubled over the past 
10 years, despite cuts in police resources. They have also risen 
significantly in Washington County but held steady in Essex County.

More drug-related crime is one of the byproducts of the increase in 
heroin use that local police have had to handle.

Warren, Washington and Rensselaer counties have found themselves 
sitting at the crossroads of regional drug distribution chains.

Heroin use in neighboring Vermont has grown to the point the 
governor, Peter Shumlin, called it the state's biggest problem. 
Dealers from the New York City area frequently take the Northway and 
Route 149, right through Glens Falls and Queensbury, to get to and 
from Vermont.

The drug traffic has led to numerous major drug busts locally over 
the past year, and has exposed local officers to big-city dealers 
with histories of drug-related violence.

Earlier this spring, Washington County Sheriff Jeff Murphy pulled 
together more than 100 local, state and federal law enforcement 
officers from five states to figure out a way to better share 
information across state lines. The cooperative effort has already 
paid dividends as information makes its way between agencies, Murphy said.

"We formed a network of intelligence where we are sharing in a 
communications loop, where if something happens in Rutland (Vermont) 
today, we know about it," he said. "We feel we have a better idea now 
when drugs are being moved."

Murphy also convinced Washington County supervisors to allow him to 
hire two new officers and move positions to create two drug 
investigator positions.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last week a statewide effort to combat 
heroin that will include the addition of 100 State Police investigators.

The increase in heroin addiction has been a challenge for county 
sheriffs, as it has had a significant impact on jail operations.

Jail populations have grown as addicts are arrested for drug 
possession or sale, or for committing crimes to support their habits.

"Our jail has been filling up with female inmates, and

90 percent of them were using heroin," Murphy said.

More medical costs are incurred as addicts require care in jail. They 
may need prescription medications, to see doctors or even to be hospitalized.

Staff numbers must be increased to keep tabs on addicts dealing with 
the physical illness that comes from withdrawal, Warren County 
Sheriff Bud York said.

Withdrawal typically requires one-on-one "watches" by officers to 
ensure an addict's safety, said sheriff's Capt. Michael Gates, Warren 
County Jail's administrator. That means extra staffing and overtime.

Murphy said correction officers aren't trained as drug rehabilitation 
counselors.

"We have no ability to treat an inmate in our jail who is addicted to 
heroin," he said.

Warren County Probation Director Robert Iusi said, because the 
closest heroin detoxification facility in the region is in the Albany 
area, jails serve as detox sites by default.

And as heroin addicts try to clean up, the drug they use to help with 
withdrawal, Suboxone, has become a black market commodity, 
particularly in jails.

Prosecutors in Warren and Washington counties are working to find new 
ways to get heroin addicts who commit low-level crimes out of jails 
and into programs that can help them beat the drug.

Both counties are exploring diversionary programs for first-time or 
low-level offenders addicted to opiates.

Washington County may use a "Challenge" program offered through 
Council for Prevention that incorporates peer support and outdoor 
activities, in addition to traditional rehabilitation programs.

"It's not a traditional approach, but we have to do something 
different," Murphy said.

Washington County District Attorney Tony Jordan said prosecutors want 
to help users but penalize dealers. But that can get tricky when 
users turn to selling drugs to support their habits.

"I have tremendous empathy for addicts and none for the dealers. The 
trick is the ones who are in between," Jordan said.

Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan said one of the issues law 
enforcement personnel have confronted during the rise in heroin use 
is state laws do not seem to adequately penalize dealers.

A dealer must be caught with a substantial amount of heroin to 
qualify for a lengthy prison sentence, and the weights when compared 
to cocaine possession charges seem to need adjustment, she said.

Dealers are motivated by staggering profit margins. A dose of heroin 
that can be bought for $3 in New York City sells for $20 to $25 
upstate and even more in Vermont.

"By coming up here, they are getting almost 600 to 700 percent profit 
margin," Breen said.

Next week: The series looks at how changing cultural attitudes toward 
pain and painkillers set the stage for a rise in heroin addiction.
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