Arlington Police At Forefront Of Finding Solutions To Epidemic

ARLINGTON, MA — Arlington Police Chief Frederick Ryan was in the Washington D.C. area helping develop guidance to implement mental health service programs within the criminal justice system this week, highlighting once again that Arlington's Police Department is at the forefront when it comes to that.

"Our team is frequently called upon by law enforcement and public health agencies around the country who are trying to implement behavioral health and pre-arrest diversion programs in their own jurisdictions," said the chief in an email to Patch. This latest event is one of many, he said. And there's good reason:

“Those with Substance Use Disorders are our neighbors, friends, and loved ones, and law enforcement stands on the front lines of the battle against this epidemic,” Ryan said in a statement earlier.

He and Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian were invited to participate in a dialogue convened by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Bureau of Justice Assistance because of their work on it here.

How'd this happen?

This has become par for the course for Ryan and Koutoujian.

Back in about 2010, Arlington Police noticed they were often arresting and prosecuting people with behavioral health or substance use disorder. So the department started working with then Senator Donnelly’s office and his then Chief of Staff (now Senator Friedman) on grant funding to embed a mental health clinician in the police department using what is known as the co-responder model.

"That program quickly evolved and was led by our amazingly dedicated and professional Rebecca Wolfe and we quickly realized that many of the persons that we were servicing suffered from co-occurring disorders," said Ryan in an email to Patch. The police officers were seeing both behavioral and substance use.

In mid-2015 the department designed and implemented the Arlington Outreach Initiative to go a step further. That initiative went on to become a national model for responding to the opiate epidemic at the municipal level, one person at a time, according to the chief.

Koutoujian has previously presented on the MSO’s Medication Assisted Treatment and Opioid Recovery program at the White House, while Ryan has testified before the United States Senate regarding the Arlington Opiate Outreach Initiative, and brought him into discussions with the US Attorney General and US Surgeon General. Still, the chief says there's more work to be done.

"I’m no expert... We are all learning from one another across this nation in hopes to save every life that we possibly can. We have rolled up our sleeves and we have taken a 'can do' attitude to a very complex problem," he said in an email to Patch.

The chief attributes the success and national recognition of Arlington's programming to the members of the Arlington Police Department.

"Our team has set aside the stigma associated with behavioral and substance disorders, we have changed the language that we use related to persons suffering from such conditions, and we are laser focused on delivering fair and impartial police services to all members of our community, no exceptions," said Ryan.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation. The agency's mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America's communities.

Congress established the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in 1992 to make substance use and mental disorder information, services, and research more accessible.

Panel discussions and conference like the one they attended this week come with new lessons, the chief and sheriff said.

“As we all seek to stem the tide of the opioid epidemic, nothing could be more important than learning from one another and sharing best practices. This convening provided an opportunity to do both," said Koutoujian.

"Yesterday I was able to take away critically important information and best practices at a conference sponsored and paid for by SAMHSA. I also spoke on Arlington’s experience and our affiliation with the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative. PAARI has a nationwide footprint and I serve as the co-chairperson of the organization."

How's Arlington doing?

Arlington bucks the statewide and national trend with only one suspected opiate fatal overdose last year, according to police. Together with the Arlington Fire Department, first responders saved nearly 100 lives in Arlington using the overdose reversal drug Nalaxone (the name brand is Narcan) last year, the chief said.

"We feel strongly that our programming, in partnership with Arlington’s Health and Human Services, the Fire Department, and many others was directly related to the saving of many lives."

And as such, the Federal Criminal Justice Agency just selected Arlington Police Department as a national learning site, he said.

(For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Arlington Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Photo by Jenna Fisher