Wheeling Saw Sharp Rise in Drug-Related Deaths in 2023
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WHEELING -- While there was an overall decrease in several crime categories in Wheeling in 2023, drug overdoses increased and overdose deaths in Wheeling rose steeply, according to statistics released Monday by the Wheeling Police Department.
After a three-year downward trend, drug overdoses increased by 11% and overdose deaths increased by 136%.
There were 182 overdoses in 2023 compared to 164 the year before, according to the police department. Overdose deaths jumped from 11 in 2022 to 26 in 2023.
The 26 overdose deaths last year were still fewer than the 28 recorded in 2021.
Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger attributed last year's increases to enhanced use of fentanyl mixed with other types of opioids and newer drugs in the city such as xylazine, known as "Tranq."
Fentanyl in pressed pill form is the main cause of overdose deaths in Wheeling, according to Schwertfeger. He said users are either purposely taking the drug or the substance has been cut into the drugs they want to take.
"These mixtures of fentanyl and other drugs in pill form are manufactured in Mexico and shipped across the border and make their way to all the cities," described Schwertfeger. "What happens is someone thinks they're getting oxycodone or Percocet, but they're actually taking fentanyl, and that's gonna kill you."
The new drugs entering the city are deadlier than other street drugs, noted Schwertfeger, who described countering xylazine overdoses as taking "more and more doses of Narcan" compared to other street drugs.
(Graphic Provided by Wheeling Police Department)
To counter drug overdoses and drug deaths, the WPD will continue its Crisis Intervention Training for officers. During the community-based program, WPD staff participate in over 40 hours of training that teaches them how to navigate interactions between them and individuals in mental health crises.
The WPD will also continue its partnership with Northwood Health Systems, whose mental health mobile crisis responders and substance use disorder mobile crisis responders assist officers during drug overdose interactions.
"There's no doubt in my professional mind that doing a geographic policing approach, which puts resources towards trying to stomp out crime trends, works," noted Schwertfeger. "Having said that, I don't believe that going out there and snatching every drug user and putting them in jail is the right path."
A new measure by the WPD to get drug overdose and drug death numbers down is the introduction of a peer support specialist to their team. The peer support specialist will do outreach and case management for individuals experiencing substance use disorder who "have not necessarily overdosed," said Schwertfeger.
"If I'm an officer encountering the same individual struggling with substance use disorder multiple times, I would introduce the peer specialist to the individual," explained Schwertfeger. "The specialist can then follow up with the individual to see if they have a permanent residence or live at a homeless encampment. Then, that peer specialist will do outreach and case management related to helping out."
The specialist will be one of five provided to police stations across the state by social service programmer and helpline operator First Choice Services using grant funding. Schwertfeger wants "at least one if not two" for his department.
"We want people to get help, and we want them to be productive members of our community," he added. "This new position is one way we'll certainly ramp up efforts as it relates to drug trafficking."
“Group A,” or more serious, offenses over the past few years in Wheeling. (Graphic Provided by Wheeling Police Department)
The WPD arrests for what the department categorizes as Group A offenses, such as property crimes and crimes against people, were down 6%. Arrests for Group B offenses, like nuisance, quality of life and highway/safety/traffic offenses were down 2%.
Schwertfeger attributed these decreases to the WPD focusing on geographic and problem-oriented policing for non-drug related crimes.
"The officers don't come to work and just ride around aimlessly," he explained. "We try to pinpoint and focus on hotspots where crime trends are developing and sniff those out as quickly as we can."
Fraud cases and assaults were two Group A crimes that slightly increased in 2023, going up 7% and 10%, respectively. Schwertfeger explained the fraud increase is due to the overall growth of white collar crime in the country from increased social media and internet use, which allows scams to become more prevalent.
On the assault increase, Schwertfeger attributed the problem to the frequent use of methamphetamines in Wheeling. He explained meth users are more likely to be violent than opioid users, leading them to commit many assaults in the area.
Crimes that decreased the most from 2022 were drug offenses, down 24%, and robbery, down 25%.
The WPD will strive to "keep the foot on the gas" in 2024, according to Schwertfeger. To accomplish this, the WPD will counteract low staffing levels. An open house at WPD headquarters on Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. will be the department's first step in ramping up recruiting efforts.
Another challenge the WPD hopes to counter in 2024 is recidivism, which is a convicted criminal reoffending. Schwertfeger explained they are seeing the "story play itself out over and over again" of a subject indicted for a crime committing another offense while on bond.
"Those folks probably need to sit at the Regional Jail until their trial," he noted. "We're just seeing recidivism over and over again due to low bonds or no bonds. It's insane."
To solve this, Schwertfeger said the WPD may be contacting state legislators to "make some changes" regarding "big picture decisions on bonds."
"I'm really excited about these numbers," Schwertfeger said of the overall crime statistics. "I'm proud of the officers that are out there and the entire Wheeling Police Department. We have a lot of civilian staff that do tremendous work as well, so I'm extremely proud of the entire organization."