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Plymouth County Highlighted in State Report on Decline of Opioid-Related Overdose Deaths

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Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Plymouth County Highlighted in State Report on Decline of Opioid-Related Overdose Deaths

The Police Chiefs of Plymouth County and Plymouth County Outreach (PCO) are pleased to announce that the county was singled-out and recognized by the state today for the many ongoing efforts countywide in helping to reduce the number of opioid-related overdose deaths.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued its quarterly report on opioid-related overdose deaths among Massachusetts residents today. The report states that overdose deaths in Massachusetts are continuing to decline, falling an estimated four percent between 2016 and 2018. The statistics in Plymouth County show even better results.

“While the report shows a decline in the opioid-related overdose death rate statewide, there were also particularly notable declines in some pockets of the state. One such place was in Plymouth County, including the city of Brockton, which experienced a notable decrease in deaths in 2018 compared with 2017,” the report states.

In its county-by-county report, the state DPH indicates that there was a 26% drop in overdose deaths in Plymouth County from 2017 to 2018.

In March, Plymouth County Outreach released the data from its 2018 Annual Report, showing a more conservative, but still impactful 18 percent decrease in fatal overdoses and a 13 percent decrease in non-fatal overdoses in Plymouth County, compared to 2017. It should be noted that the data compiled by PCO is collected differently than the data compiled by state, thus the difference in percentages.

“To see Plymouth County recognized in the state’s report only further validates the hard work that we have been doing with Plymouth County Outreach over the past few years,” East Bridgewater Police Chief Scott Allen said. “As our outreach efforts and capabilities continue to expand and grow, we hope to see those numbers drop further until they are down to zero.”

Last October, PCO was awarded the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Leadership in Community Policing Award.

In addition, PCO is currently eight months into a two-year, federal Bureau of Justice Assistance grant (Comprehensive Opioid Site-Based Program grant), which is providing $496,000 to PCO to expand and build upon the great work of the coalition throughout the county.

Earlier today, the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) announced that P.A.A.R.I. has been awarded a $930,000 Integrative Behavioral Health grant by South Shore Health.

South Shore Health awarded $2.4 million to nonprofit groups this spring to support behavioral healthcare in Plymouth and Norfolk counties. P.A.A.R.I. was one of two nonprofit groups selected to receive a five-year grant for $930,000 this cycle.

The grant will support a new partnership between P.A.A.R.I. and Plymouth County Outreach. Over the next five years, P.A.A.R.I. will work with PCO to implement a “hub model” throughout the county to expand the behavioral health services available to the community, and coordinate outreach visits for individuals identified as being at acutely elevated risk due to substance use and/or mental health issues.

About Plymouth County Outreach: Plymouth County Outreach is a collaborative of police departments throughout Plymouth County led by the following chiefs: Abington Chief David Majenski, Bridgewater Chief Christopher Delmonte, Bridgewater State University Chief David Tillinghast, Brockton Chief John Crowley, Brockton Police Lt. Richard Linehan, Carver Chief Marc Duphily, Duxbury Chief Matthew Clancy, East Bridgewater Chief Scott Allen, Halifax Chief Ted Broderick, Hanover Chief Walter Sweeney, Hanson Chief Michael Miksch, Hingham Chief Glenn Olsson, Hull Chief John Dunn, Kingston Chief Maurice Splaine, Lakeville Chief Frank Alvihiera, Marion Chief John Garcia, Marshfield Chief Phillip Tavares, Mattapoisett Chief Mary Lyons, Middleboro Chief Joseph Perkins, Norwell Chief Ted Ross, Pembroke Chief Richard Wall, Plymouth Chief Michael Botieri, Plympton Chief Patrick Dillon, Rochester Chief Robert Small, Rockland Chief John Llewellyn, Scituate Chief Michael Stewart, Wareham Chief John Walcek, West Bridgewater Chief Victor Flaherty and Whitman Chief Scott D. Benton.

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Concord Police Alert Residents to Possible Exposure of Private Data

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Concord Police Department
Chief Joseph O’Connor
219 Walden Street
P.O. Box 519
Concord, MA 01742

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003

Concord Police Alert Residents to Possible Exposure of Private Data

Unredacted Police Log Posted to Town Website for Approximately 24 Hours

CONCORD — Chief Joseph O’Connor and the Concord Police Department are today alerting residents to the possible exposure of private citizen information after the wrong version of the weekly police log was posted onto the Town’s website earlier this week.

The weekly Concord Police log is posted to concordma.gov at around noontime every Monday. The log that is supposed to be posted and released to the public is the “media log” which contains information about police incidents and calls for service but does not contain any private or confidential information. On Tuesday, Jan. 29, Chief O’Connor was alerted to the fact that the wrong version of the log was inadvertently posted to the town’s website by a department employee. Chief O’Connor immediately ordered the log taken down, and the Town of Concord, through its website vendor, removed the file and purged the website cache.

“Human error resulted in the accidental posting of personal information about those who called for service or were otherwise involved with the Concord Police Department over the past week,” Chief O’Connor said. “On behalf of the entire Police Department, I would like to sincerely apologize for this breach of individual privacy. We are committed to working with all those affected by this.”

The log file that was posted to the town website contained the personal information of individuals who had reported incidents or were involved with the Concord Police Department between January 21-27, 2019, including in some cases names, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, phone numbers and social security numbers.

The amount of information released about a specific person depended on the nature of their interaction with the Department between January 21-27.

The Concord Police Department is sending letters and information packets to all those whose information appeared on the log file. The information packet can also be downloaded HERE, and it contains vital tips and resources to assist those whose private data may have been exposed and those who may be victims of identify theft.

For any resident whose data appeared on the log or believes they may have been a victim of identify theft, the Concord Police Department has assigned two senior officers to respond to all citizen inquiries. Citizens may contact:

In response to the release of private information, it is also recommended that those affected follow these steps recommended by the Federal Trade Commission:

  • Check your credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — for free — by visiting annualcreditreport.com. Accounts or activity that you don’t recognize could signal identity theft. Visit IdentityTheft.gov to find out what to do.
  • Review your payment card statements carefully. Look for credit or debit card charges you don’t recognize. If you find fraudulent charges, contact your credit card company or bank right away, report the fraud, and request a new payment card number.
  • Place a fraud alert on your credit files. A fraud alert warns creditors that you may be an identity theft victim and that they should verify that anyone seeking credit in your name really is you. A fraud alert is free and lasts a year.
  • Consider placing a free credit freeze on your credit reports. A credit freeze makes it harder for someone to open a new account in your name. Keep in mind that it won’t stop a thief from making charges to your existing accounts.

The Concord Police Department is also reviewing its log file creation and website posting procedures to ensure that this incident is not repeated in the future.

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