Brick Police Chief To Speak On Blue Hart Program In Washington

BRICK, NJ — Brick Township Police Chief James Riccio is headed to Washington to speak to federal officials about one of the programs in place in Ocean County to address the opioid addiction crisis.

Riccio told the Brick Township Council Tuesday night that he had been asked to come to Washington on March 14 (today) to speak to representatives of the Office of National Drug Control Policy about the Blue HART program, which helps heroin addicts who want treatment get help without fear of prosecution.

Brick Township and Manchester Township were the towns that piloted the program created by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office last year.

So far, 380 people have gone through the program since it started, according to the latest figures Riccio had from the prosecutor's office. Of those, 125 have been directly through Brick, Riccio said. Its early success led to the program expanding to other towns in Ocean County.

Through the program, an addict who wants treatment can go to the police department on a designated day of the week — in Brick it's Thursday — to request help. The person is screened, and connected with a local treatment program.

Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato has said the program and other efforts by law enforcement have begun to make an impact: in 2017, there were 163 overdose deaths in Ocean County, down from 211 in 2016.

The Brick Township Police Department was honored in late 2017 for its work in helping to pilot the program with the 2017 New Jersey EMS Director's Award.

Police Chief James Riccio (white shirt) with newly sworn police officers, Mayor John Ducey and the Township Council at Tuesday night's council meeting. Photo by Karen Wall, Patch staff