Pubdate: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 Source: Provincetown Banner (MA) Copyright: 2014 GateHouse Media, Inc. Contact: http://provincetown.wickedlocal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4819 Author: Erik Borg OUTER CAPE POLICE UNITE TO COMBAT RISING HEROIN PROBLEM PROVINCETOWN - When Eastham police arrested two Provincetown residents for the possession and distribution of heroin last week, it was perhaps the clearest sign yet that local police efforts are ramping up in response to the spread of heroin on the Outer Cape. For more than two years, the police departments of Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet and Eastham have been working together - sharing leads, resources and tips - to rein in the increasingly common drug that has taken hold on an unprecedented level in the four neighboring communities. "Heroin has definitely become a big problem all over the Cape right now, and what we began to realize is that we were dealing with a lot of the same people, so we needed to combine our investigations," said Sgt. David Perry, a detective with the Truro Police Dept. who works as part of the collaborative unit. The arrest of Caitlyn Dionne and Carlos Valdez during a traffic stop on Route 6 last week was seen as a highlight of that collaborative effort and the culmination of a particular three-month investigation that identified the two Provincetown residents as alleged heroin dealers operating throughout the four towns. According to police documents, the man and woman had twice been implicated in the sale of heroin to undercover police officers operating as part of the joint investigative unit earlier this summer. When they were eventually arrested on warrants during the July 28 traffic stop, Dionne, 23, and Valdez, 20, were charged with two counts each of distribution of a Class A substance and conspiracy to violate drug laws. The police also seized heroin from the stopped vehicle, leading to additional charges of heroin possession with intent to distribute. While the bust was heralded as a success, it also points to the on-going heroin surge that police are still trying to "wrap their head around" more than two years after combining forces on the ground, said Wellfleet Police Chief Ronald Fisette. Since the four departments began working together, there has been a spike in heroin-related arrests, including at least 13 in the past year and a half for cases involving the distribution of heroin alone, Perry said. The number of arrests represents a "big increase" from previous years, and it's important to note that police efforts have focused almost solely on the people distributing the drug, not just using it, he said. "The reality is, with this issue, we are seeing and dealing with people from all walks of the community. It's not like it's just a young person issue, or just a working class issue. We're seeing everyone involved in it," Perry said. The perception that heroin and other hard drug use becomes more prevalent in the off-season months when there is less activity and more unemployment may also be false, he said. "It's just about where our focus is and where our attention is," Perry said. "There are other things going on in the summer that distract people, but I don't think a person who has an addiction takes a break from their addiction." While arrests have gone up, so has the number of reported overdoses requiring emergency attention, including at least one fatal overdose in Wellfleet roughly eight months ago, Fisette said. Provincetown selectmen chair Tom Donegan called the instances of heroin overdoses and other hard drug use a "scourge" on the community at a meeting in Town Hall in May, and police have also begun to take note of the public safety threat the drug is presenting. In March, Gov. Deval Patrick echoed what local police officers have grappled with on the ground when he named opiate abuse a statewide "epidemic" and called for all police officers, firefighters and emergency personnel to be equipped with a prescription antidote called nalaxone that can quickly reverse the effects of a heroin overdose. The prescription medicine, marketed as Narcan, is already stocked on ambulances throughout the Cape, but local police could begin carrying the antidote on their person within the next month, Fisette said. The change is unprecedented locally, but sadly necessary, he said. "If you had asked me five years ago if I thought this would ever happen, I would have said no, but I think times have changed," he said. "I'm not sure what the next five years will bring, but we still need to keep working on ways to combat this thing." [Editor's note: This is the first part of a two-part series on the rise of heroin and other hard drug use on the Outer Cape.] - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom