Police Chief Terrance Lemming | Facebook/Beecher Police Department
Police Chief Terrance Lemming | Facebook/Beecher Police Department
The Village of Beecher heard from Police Chief Terrance Lemming at a recent meeting regarding the 2023 police department plan, with the chief highlighting work they are doing to combat the opioid epidemic.
“About 10 years ago, [we saw people] start dying of overdoses,” Lemming said. “But the reality is, it was something more than we ever thought. All of us know somebody that died of an overdose of opioid: Family and friends and acquaintances. So when I was in Lockport, we started a program called Safe Passage, where addicts can come in to the police station and we would get them treatment and pay for their long-term treatment because short term don't work. And then the pandemic occurred and all the police stuff started coming out and nobody came to the police station to get help anymore.”
Before the pandemic, the program helped 23 people, and while three died, they still considered the program a success.
Lemming discussed the new drug overdose outreach program, called Naloxone Plus, which involves officers calling the health department to send people out when people who overdose get out of the hospital. These are not officers, in order to not scare the people, he said.
"We sit down with them to make sure they're safe and we offer them the treatment they need to recover from this terrible addiction," Lemming said.
He said they had one person go through the new program since it started in December, and they will help people no matter how often they come in. Relapse is part of recovery, Lemming said.
Lemming also gave updates on other aspects of the 2023 police plan, including a new e-ticket method that helps the department keep track of records and be able to send information to other organizations with ease. He also told the board that he wants to start a charitable organization in conjunction with the fire department that is based around Christmas, but will be go year-round. This will be aimed at helping families that have gone through major catastrophes, such as a home burning down or an unexpected illness. This could also be for food, clothing or other needs.
"We can help citizens all year-round with the money we raised," Lemming said.
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