POLICE
How One Police Chief Is Changing the Conversation Around Addiction
A 30-year law enforcement veteran from Newtown, Ohio, Police Chief Tom Synan has stepped up and launched the Hamilton County Addiction Response Coalition, a partnership between law enforcement and behavioral health programs. The coalition’s goal is to shift the addiction response off of law enforcement departments and instead utilize law enforcement officers’ first interaction with drug users to connect those individuals with treatment services via community engagement. Law enforcement officers contribute by connecting addicts with community agencies that can place the addicts in treatment facilities.