Franklin Lakes Police Implement Heroin Amnesty Program

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J. - The borough police department has implemented a new policy designed to help heroin users get the help they need.

Heroin and other opiate users who indicate they need help will not be charged or prosecuted, but instead will be offered amnesty. They will referred to the appropriate drug counseling and addiction recovery services, said Chief Carmine D. Pezzuti.

"The police department will provide whatever help it can to addicts who themselves seek help or for whom help is sought," Pezzuti said.

The policy also covers if a user's parents, children, spouses, guardians, or siblings notifies police.

The policy is the result of a directive from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office. Mayor Frank Bivona and the Borough Council endorsed implementing the policy at a meeting Tuesday.

In related news, six people's lives have been saved since police officers began administering Narcan to heroin and opiate users in March 2015. Narcan is an over-the-counter medication that blocks and reverses the effects of opiates.

"Absent the drug, that would have been six fatalities in just over one year's time within the borders of Franklin Lakes," Pezzuti said. "The problem is here and the Police Department is committed to addressing it head on. Let’s work together, outside the criminal justice framework, to save lives."