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Fatal Heroin Overdoses Continue To Outpace Homicides
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Apr 5, 2015
Modified Apr 5, 2015
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Apr 5, 2015
Modified Apr 5, 2015
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For the second straight year, fatal heroin overdoses have outpaced homicides in New York City.
In 2013, 335 people were murdered in the city, while 424 died from heroin overdoses. The Daily News reports that fatal heroin overdoses in 2014 also exceeded the 328 murders catalogued last year.
During the first quarter of 2015, the DEA seized 220 pounds of the drug, an amount equivalent to what they found in 2014, a year in which the NYPD, the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, and federal law enforcement seized a combined $300 million worth of heroin.
“We’ve never seen these numbers, not even in the heroin epidemics from 30 to 40 years ago,” the special agent in charge of the DEA's New York City field division told the paper.
The neighborhoods with the highest fatal overdose rates are Fordham, Tremont, and Mott Haven in the Bronx, and Tottenville and Willowbrook in Staten Island, the borough where all NYPD officers carry Naloxone. Two officers saved an overdose victim's life with the drug last week; 11 overdose victims have been saved by Naloxone in 2015.
According to the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, heroin in 2015 New York City is six to seven times stronger than it was in the 1970s.
Nationwide, fatal heroin overdoses increased fivefold from 2001 to 2013. Fatal overdoses involving prescription drugs (according to a 2013 study, four out of five people who recently tried heroin began using prescription opiates) outnumber fatal heroin overdoses, but locally those deaths "have leveled off," according to the Department of Health [PDF].
Tagged
drugs
heroin
heroin epidemic
staten island
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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