It wasn’t long ago that Wheeling was deep in the throes of the opioid crisis. In 2021, the city experienced all-time highs in drug overdoses and overdose deaths. According to data from the Wheeling Police Department, there were 210 overdoses that year and 28 overdose deaths.

Yet over the next five years, the outlook has changed drastically, both statistics are at lows not seen in a decade. That’s thanks to the approach that Wheeling Police and Chief Shawn Schwertfeger have taken since his arrival in the Friendly City, a combination of diversion and discipline, enforcement and outreach.

The numbers prove it. According to WPD data released this week, there were just 87 drug overdoses in Wheeling in 2025 and only nine overdose deaths. That marks the first time since 2016 that there have been fewer than 100 overdoses in a year and the first time since 2017 that Wheeling had fallen to single digits in overdose deaths in a year.

Among the main ingredients in that drop is the way Schwertfeger has handled the drug crisis in Wheeling. Yes, he said this week, the police department will still hold accountable those who need to be. They’ll root out and arrest the dealers who bring those poisons into the city. But for those suffering from substance use disorder, there sometimes is a different tack taken.

Schwertfeger offered an example from his own experience. While driving along W.Va. 2, he saw a man walking the highway, which is illegal. He stopped and started talking to the man and found that he had a loaded needle in his possession.

The two had a “heart to heart,” the police chief said, and in that conversation, the man made it clear he wanted to get help. Schwertfeger confiscated the drugs and took the man to Northwood to get help.

That scene could have ended differently. Schwertfeger could have arrested the man. The trip could have ended not at Northwood, but at Northern Regional Jail. But, Schwertfeger asked, what could would another misdemeanor on the man’s record have done? Would he have gotten any closer to getting clean? Rather than going straight to punishment, Schwertfeger — and other members of the police force — have offered diversion, the opportunity to break the cycle of addiction.

Another key factor, he said, has been the implementation of a WPD Crisis Response Unit, a group that was the first of its kind in West Virginia when implemented. The unit provides 24/7 support for people and families experiencing mental-health emergencies, substance-use issues, or homelessness. It also includes peer liaisons, those who are in recovery themselves, who work with people in crisis with drugs.

Schwertfeger said having their voice as part of the department has been crucial, that they have been able to convince those dealing with substance use disorder to take the next step in recovery when police officers haven’t been able to make that breakthrough.

Schwertfeger said the Crisis Response Unit’s work has helped in an overall drop in crime in the city, some crimes falling by more than 50% from 2024 to 2025. The unit’s main contribution in 2025 was to convince 18 people suffering from substance use disorder to seek treatment.

“That’s 18 people that aren’t breaking into a car, trespassing in a vacant structure, selling, using, buying drugs,” Schwertfeger said. “There are many factors, but that is a huge one as to why we’re seeing reduction in crime.”

The progress Wheeling has made in the last five years in battling drug issues is nothing less than astounding. The WPD’s approach to fighting that battle has been a major factor in that success. Wheeling city officials should continue supporting the department and its efforts in any way they can.