Heroin use, drug arrests on the rise in Pike County

By Nathan Mayberg
MILFORD — Drug violations increased in Pike County last year, a part of the growing use of heroin seen elsewhere in the county.

While much attention has been paid to heroin and related fatal overdoses in the nation, Pike County hasn't faced the same deadly outcome as other regions have, even those close by.

Last year, there were two fatal heroin overdoses, while this year there were none reported as of Sept. 10 in Pike County.

According to the Pennsylvlania Uniform Crime Reporting System, there were 245 drug violations reported in Pike County in 2014 and 19 robberies.

That was up sharply from 2013, when 146 drug violations and seven robberies were reported.

The reporting system does not break up the figures for heroin use or which type of robberies have been reported.

"We've seen a lot of young people lose their lives" over the years, Pike County Sheriff Philip Bueki said.

Bueki said he knows people personally "who have lost a son or daughter. It's very sad."

Cheap, easy to buy
Small bags of heroin can run anywhere from $5 to $10, Bueki said,

And the potency of the drug is far stronger than what police saw in the 1980s and 1990s, he said.

"It's a very dangerous product."

Bueki said the heroin on the streets now is "very pure, and it's very cheap."

That high potency is contributing to a "high addiction rate and high death rate," he said.

Bueki said his department doesn't track the number of heroin arrests or overdoses it handles but, he said, the availability and use of heroin has become more noticeable in the past 10 years.

Bueki has taught drug and alcohol prevention in schools since 1986, has been with the sheriff's department since 1981 and was elected sheriff in 2001.

There has been a "dramatic increase" in the use of heroin, he said.

Heroin was not a drug of choice until the last 10 years, when it joined marijuana, Bueki said.

He said police first noticed the change when students at Delaware Valley were caught bringing the drug to school.

Bueki believes the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program that he helps coordinate at Delaware Valley schools has been a "huge success" though.

At a graduation of the fifth-grade DARE class recently, Bueki said 90 parents showed up, which is a "great response from the community."

Bueki said his officers don't carry Narcan, which is used to save people from heroin overdoses.

He said his officers aren't "responding as much" to overdose calls.

Not going away
Bueki referred questions regarding statistics involving heroin arrests and overdoses to the Pike County Prosecutor's Office.

State Police Corporal Jim Travis, who has worked out of the Blooming Grove barracks since 1996, said he has seen a "noticeable increase" in the prevalence of heroin over the past five or six years.

"It has grown in the area just like any other area in the commonwealth," Travis said.

The drug has also grown more potent, allowing users to snort it instead of injecting themselves with a needle.

Some heroin distributors are also lacing heroin with the chemical fentanyl, which Travis said can make the drug more lethal.

State troopers in Pennsylvania are now required to carry Narcan, the anti-opioid that can rescue somebody from a heroin overdose.

Travis said that troopers at the Blooming Grove barracks received Narcan about three months ago, and they haven't used it yet.

Travis believes that heroin addiction can lead to more property crime "for people who are desperate" to get their hands on the drug.

The property crimes typically associated with heroin use include home burglaries and car break-ins, Travis said.

Those who turn to crime may start out in their family's home first, he said.

According to statistics from the State Police unified crime reporting system, there were 1,246 property offenses in 2014, which was down from 1,481 property offenses reported in 2013.

There were 19 robberies reported in 2014, compared to seven in 2013.

The crime rate is still "relatively low," Travis said.

While Pike County's drug and property crime rates are higher than those in neighboring Wayne County, they are below the rates in Monroe County.

The 2014 drug rate was higher than Lackwanna's, but property crime was lower.

Pike County is still "one of the better areas to live in," Travis said.