Our region continues to suffer from an opioid epidemic and has seen a flood of deadly fentanyl overtake our neighborhoods. This epidemic has impacted residents across our entire county, regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic status. While he was Sheriff, Jim Neil made combatting the flow of drugs through our community a top priority. In doing so, he identified three ways in which we must fight the opioid epidemic: Treatment, Education, and Enforcement.
Treatment
When Jim Neil took office in 2013, he ordered an evaluation of the inmate population. It became clear that the Justice Center was ground zero for two major issues plaguing our communities: mental illness and addiction. Following this evaluation, he partnered with the University of Cincinnati to identify potential solutions. This later led to a partnership with the Talbert House to provide counseling and evidence based programs to the inmates.
As Sheriff, Jim Neil went after drug dealers and traffickers. Under his leadership, the Hamilton County Justice Center became the largest detox facility in the area. The Hamilton County Justice Center was the first jail in the state to assist inmates experiencing opioid withdrawals, which resulted in safer conditions for the inmates and our officers. Sheriff Neil also championed evidenced-based treatment for inmates experiencing substance abuse. He opened male and female pods within the Justice Center, which helped hundreds of inmates with their substance abuse disorders.
Education
In addition to improving treatment for inmates, Jim Neil implemented a robust public-education campaign to inform the community about problems and issues associated with the heroin epidemic. His office posted billboards around the county requesting that citizens report heroin dealers to law-enforcement agencies. These billboards generated a 1,000-percent increase in telephone tips from the general public to the Regional Enforcement Narcotic Unit.
Jim Neil’s Office also held Heroin Forums around the county where former heroin addicts, police and corrections officers, a medical doctor, and the county coroner discussed the problem, what work is being done to address the issue, and what is planned in the future.
Enforcement
As Sheriff, Jim Neil took a lead role in pursuing the arrest of heroin dealers and worked aggressively with other law-enforcement agencies to remove heroin from our community.
Neil facilitated the creation of the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition Task Force, which is a coalition of law-enforcement agencies working on the heroin epidemic. His office supplied deputies and other resources to this task force, which later became a state-wide model for law enforcement agencies dealing with a heroin epidemic.
A total of eight officers from local and state law enforcement agencies in Hamilton County were assigned to the task force, whose sole mission was to combat the heroin trade on a countywide basis.
Combating the opioid epidemic will be a top priority for Jim Neil as Hamilton County’s next Sheriff. Jim will continue to build and expand upon the programs he founded and will ensure that drug dealers and traffickers do not find a warm welcome in Hamilton County.