Getting smart about narcotics trends: Training

For the third year, Heidelberg’s Criminology Department, the Master of Arts in Counseling Program and the Community Engagement Committee offered an eye-opening and sobering training on campus about trends in law enforcement and mental health as professionals deal with narcotics.

Dr. Sarah Lazzari and Dr. DoHee Kim Appel collaborated with Mircea Handru, executive director of the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Seneca, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wyandot Counties to bring the half-day Operation Street Smart training workshop to Heidelberg on Friday. This year’s training was the largest yet, with nearly 90 people in attendance, including Heidelberg students.

Operation Street Smart, currently in its 20th year, was created by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office as a way to take community-oriented policing to a new level. The program is a collaborative effort between D.A.R.E. and the Special Investigations Unit, which is the Sheriff’s Office undercover narcotics branch.

The training – conducted by Mike Powell and Shawn Bain, retired from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office – provided current and up-to-date narcotics information on trends, terminology, paraphernalia and psychological effects to those who deal with populations struggling with addiction and today’s youth. Participants attended from throughout the region, including Juvenile and Adult Probation, local school teachers, principals, counselors and parent advocates, the Lotus Recovery House, the Fortress Homeless Shelter, HHWP Community Action Commission, Head Start, the Department of Job and Family Services, CARSA, Firelands, TASC and FOCUS Recovery and Wellness Community, among others. 

The training was geared toward those who work with populations struggling with addiction, those who work with youth in schools and those who plan to have a career in law enforcement.

“The training is eye-opening and sobering, when you see the number of overdose deaths related to Fentanyl, especially,” Sarah said. “Similarly, Mike and Shawn provided the physical examples of how people hide drugs in everyday items, like the bottom of hairbrushes and highlighters that hide a pipe. Many of these items can be found at local head shops, corner stores and gas stations.”

According to Sarah, Shawn always jokes that his Amazon account has probably been flagged a million times, as he purchased these items on Amazon to bring to the training. Both of the presenters were happy to see such a large group of participants.