County courts see no decline in their caseload
In Butler County's courts, the sharp decrease in overdose deaths is a good sign, but that hasn't impacted caseloads much.
District Attorney Richard Goldinger said the goal is always to reduce the use of these substances in the community, and those dying as a consequence.
“If we can reduce it by one or two I would call that a success,” he said.
But while the overdose death rate has seen a “significant drop” and has been nearly “cut in half,” Goldinger said his office handles about 2,400 to 2,800 cases annually, and believes that 2018 is on track to see that many by the end of the year.
“I can't say we are less busy in the office because of fewer overdoses,” he said. “We haven't really seen a decrease in the caseload.”
Chief Public Defender Kevin Flaherty echoed those comments, saying his office is also not seeing much of a decrease in the number of cases they handle.
“We still have cases obviously involving the use of opiates,” he said. “But as far as the death rate is concerned, the frequency of the death rate is down.”
He said opioids and alcohol abuse “easily make up the majority of cases” or are related in some way. But Butler County is seeing less violent crime compared to year's past, he said.
Goldinger said there are a number of reasons why the death rate could be dropping in the community, and chief among them is the widespread use of Narcan by first responders, including police, EMS technicians and firefighters who respond to overdoses.
“More people are being saved I think, that is a contributing factor,” he said.
He also said the county last year saw a higher volume of straight fentanyl being delivered to users, but now overdose deaths are being attributed to combined drug toxicity, with fentanyl blended in the mix of other deadly substances such as heroin.
“There has been a significant decrease in fentanyl distribution, at least straight fentanyl,” he said. “But we do still see it mixed with heroin.”
That fentanyl trickles into the community through drug pipelines from bigger cities, such as Detroit, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
“Butler is not alone, we are similar to Beaver, Washington, Indiana — all the other counties surrounding Pittsburgh,” he said.
“I think we sent a message with the 'Not In My Backyard' program that we are not messing around any more and will pursue state sentences for those dealers who come here to sell drugs,” Goldinger said.
“We will continue going full steam ahead,” he promised, citing the county Drug Task Force for its work in combating the epidemic.
Flaherty also said he believes that Goldinger's campaign has been “somewhat successful” in stemming the tide.
But he said he also thinks the decrease in overdose deaths could be attributed in part to the new way marijuana is being viewed for medical purposes and the recognition from the community that this isn't just an inner-city problem.
“That recognition came much later until it started hitting places like Butler,” he said. “Without a doubt, in the past this was considered an inner-city problem. Now, most families have been touched by this in one way or another and it has spread across the entire country, it's everywhere.”
He also said the trend of pharmaceutical companies and doctors being held responsible for the over-prescription of opioid pian killers has “shown a light” on the problem.“The more community involvement the more community leaders shine a light on it, the more the pharmaceutical and medical industry has their feet held to the fire and held responsible, the more I think it will have an effect,” he said.Both Flaherty and Goldinger said treatment programs in the community have also helped, including specialty courts such as the Drug Treatment Court.“Here in our county, on Drug Court, Judge (William) Shaffer has done an excellent job,” Flaherty said.Drug Treatment Court is one of several specialty courts in Butler County with the goal of diverting candidates from incarceration into extensive treatment and supervision, with the hope that they will become clean and successful.“Drug Treatment Court is a great program,” Goldinger said. “There are a lot of success stories that come out of there.”Goldinger said that those success stories are going back out into the community and helping others who are currently in the same situation. This helps addicts learn that they can be clean, sober and productive members of society.Adam Kummer, Drug Treatment Court coordinator and Butler County probation officer, said that awareness in the community “has been raised within the past year to the overdoses, the epidemic, the abuse and bringing recovery to light.”“I think we are showing that people can live in recovery, can make it, can turn their lives around and that has a big part to do with it,” he said.As a community, Kummer said he thinks the “overall morale, motivation and attitudes” are changing, which helps bring treatment programs to the forefront of the epidemic.“I don't think there is any one thing that is contributing to why the numbers are decreasing, it is a multitude of all those things, and the sense of hope coming back around,” he said.Since taking over the court, Kummer said none of the graduates has been re-arrested or faced charges, and “all are employed, contributing members of society.”
