On the front lines of the drug war, police say they're aware of the drop-off in lethal overdoses in the county.

But they can't say why that is.

Last year, there were 92 overdose deaths in Butler County. In the first six months of this year, there have been 15 — with eight cases pending.

“I think it has to do with a number of things,” said Butler police Capt. Jim Hollobaugh. “Narcan is more readily available to everybody, there seems to be greater access to (addiction) treatment, and education could be a factor.”

Another reason for the decline in both fatal and non-fatal ODs, he said, could be a decline in the supply of fentanyl on the streets, an effect of the work of police and law enforcement agencies.

“In Butler,” Hollobaugh said, “we've stepped up patrols in areas where people are complaining about drug activity.”

He also believes the teamwork between city police and the Butler County Drug Task Force to attack the opioid problem is paying dividends.

Drug-trafficking activity shaped by supply and demand could be yet another factor for the fall in fatal opioid overdoses, according to a trooper who works for the state police vice unit.

“Crack is back,” said the vice officer, who requested anonymity because of the nature of his work. “More dealers are dealing in crack cocaine.”

The spike in crack's popularity in the county could be just the cyclical nature of drug trends, the officer said. But it could be more than that.

All the overdoses linked to fentanyl-laced heroin, he said, may have had an effect on users and dealers alike.

“I think that's in the back of some people's minds,” the officer said. “Possibly, crack is seen as less lethal.”

He posited another explanation for both the rise in crack use and the fall in deadly opioid overdoses: harsher penalties in drug cases involving fentanyl.

“I think the tougher sentences in Butler County are scaring these people,” the officer said. He credits District Attorney Richard Goldinger.

“The majority of (defendants in my cases) are getting state sentences,” he said, “and that's because the (plea) officers are starting with state (prison) sentences.”