Crime & Safety
2018 Final Count Of Naloxone Use, Overdose Deaths In Union County
The use of the lifesaving overdose-reversal drug by police in 2018 almost doubled compared to in 2017 and 2016.

UNION COUNTY, NJ — The final count is in for 2018 and the amount of times police have administered the lifesaving overdose-reversal drug almost doubled the amount used in the past two years.
In 2018, Union County officers reported using naloxone 307 times compared to 180 times in 2017 and 161 times in 2016, according to the Union County Prosecutor's Office Spokesman Mark Spivey.
"Our final police-administered naloxone deployment map of 2018. While 307 is just a number, every one of that total marks a second chance for someone at their lowest, and possibly moments away from being gone forever. Thank you to all of our local police who save lives every day," UCPONJ tweeted.
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Additionally, 116 overdose deaths were also reported in 2018 compared to 126 in 2017, and 89 in 2016, Spivey said.
Here is a breakdown of the police-administered naloxone in Union County for 2018 (from highest to lowest):
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| Town | Usage number |
| Linden | 66 |
| Union | 65 |
| Rahway | 35 |
| Elizabeth | 25 |
| Plainfield | 17 |
| Cranford | 14 |
| Kenilworth | 14 |
| Clark | 12 |
| Roselle Park | 12 |
| Summit | 10 |
| Hillside | 9 |
| Roselle | 7 |
| Garwood | 4 |
| Springfield | 4 |
| Berkeley Heights | 4 |
| Winfield | 3 |
| Scotch Plains | 2 |
| Westfield | 2 |
| Mountainside | 1 |
| New Providence | 1 |
| Fanwood | 0 |
The UCPO releases the numbers periodically in an effort to "#confrontingacrisis."

(Image via UCPONJ)
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