Department has dealt with six heroin overdoses in three weeks

“2019 was a busy year,” Prescott police chief Eric Michaels told the Common Council for the City of Prescott at their most recent meeting this past Monday January 26th at the City Hall. More specifically, total police calls for service in 2019 were up 30 percent over 2018, and 2020 is already shaping up to be an even bigger year in crime and drug use. In particular, drug cases are on the rise, with heroin coming back, along with meth.

“The last two weeks have been kind of rough,” Michaels said as it was reported that calls to date for 2020 were already set at 330, up 100 from 2019 at the same time. In total, 2019 saw a total of 5,604 calls for service phoned in to the Prescott Police Department. This was after a total of just 3,786 calls for service in 2018, itself down from 4,659 in 2017. And with the rise in incoming calls is an increase in calls involving drug use.

“The drug we’re finding more common are methamphetamine, but heroin is coming back,” Michaels told council members, having gone into the details earlier.

Council Alderwoman Darlyn Hintz was surprised.

“You’re saying six in the last two weeks?” she asked Michaels. “Wow.”

“And I think there’s been one or two after that,” Michaels said. With regard to heroin overdoses, department officers have been trained in administering Narcan to reverse the overdose and save lives, training that’s come in handy as officers have needed to administer it in most of the cases. Outside of drugs, however, vehicle theft was reported to be up in 2019, with most vehicles being recovered. And there was some more good news in Michael’s report.

Along with last year’s budget surplus, the Prescott Police Department has purchased new computers, radios, thermal imagers (to help find missing or fleeing persons), tasers, and all department sidearms have been upgraded Generation 4 Glock pistols. In addition, the Prescott Police Department is reported to be fully staffed for the first time in three years, with eight patrol officers plus an Investogator/SRO.

Photo by John McLoone.