P.A.A.R.I. partner Plymouth County Outreach was recently featured in the March issue of The Police Chief Magazine, which is the nationally distributed magazine of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). The entire March issue was dedicated to the topic of current issues involving drugs.

“Leading a Community Solution to a Community Problem” was penned by East Bridgewater Police Chief Scott Allen and Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri, with the assistance of Stonehill College assistant criminology professor Pamela Kelley, Roger Williams University criminal justice professor Sean Varano and Patrick Nevins, assistant director of grants and special projects in the Plymouth District Attorney’s Office.

The article provides an in-depth look at the opioid epidemic that local law enforcement has been dealing with for more than a decade. It highlights the tactics, partnerships and ongoing efforts to find solutions that help save lives and offer substance users the help and recovery options they need.

Plymouth County Outreach (PCO) is an opioid prevention and recovery coalition made up of 27 municipal police departments in Plymouth County, along with the Bridgewater State University Police. The partnership extends beyond law enforcement to include hospitals, recovery and faith-based organizations, as well as local coalitions and recovery-oriented groups. Chiefs Allen and Botieri are members of P.A.A.R.I.’s National Police Council and currently host five P.A.A.R.I. AmeriCorps members to support the county-wide initiative.