Falls Twp. Police Launch Drug-Treatment Program

FALLS TOWNSHIP, PA — Police in Falls Township have launched a program through which drug recovery specialists will join officers on overdose and other substance-abuse related calls.

The Falls Township Supporting Recovery Program is designed to reduce the number of drug overdoses in the township. Police Chief Nelson Whitney, who listed overdoses as one of the top causes of death in Falls, said his department has been working on the effort since September.

Since 2010, there have been 854 drug overdoses in Falls, Whitney said, and 131 of them were deadly. The department responded to 105 overdoses in 2019 and, in 2020, responded to 123.

"For years, we’ve been trying to chip away at what we can do to make this better," Whitney said during Tuesday's virtual township supervisors meeting. "This kind of next-levels it."

The program, funded through a grant from the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission, pairs specialists from the Family Service Association of Bucks County with officers full-time. In addition to responding to drug calls, the specialists will provide emergency medical care, promote treatment and provide follow-up focusing on access to care.

"All the data indicates that when a person is in that moment of crisis, the best time to connect them with treatment is then," Whitney said. "We have high hopes that this program will help the
people suffering in this community."