Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano and Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence W. Mulvey have unveiled an enforcement initiative entitled Operation H.A.L.T. (Heroin Abuse Location & Targeting) and a Parental Awareness Ad Campaign, both aimed at combating heroin use here in Nassau County. These initiatives are the enforcement and awareness components of the County Executive’s three pronged approach to combating heroin. A third component which is education will be released in the near future.

“Here in Nassau County we lose at least four residents a month to heroin overdoses,” said County Executive Mangano. “Just to demonstrate the extent of the problem, in 2009 there were 386 Heroin arrests in Nassau County which was a tremendous increase from 2008 where there were 211 heroin arrests. The Nassau County Police Department was the first police department in the Northeast to publicly confront the resurgence of heroin on Long Island. Today the Police Commissioner and I are making the heroin and opiate abuse problem the department’s number one priority. Clearly, driving while intoxicated and gun crimes will continue to garner extra attention and resources, but the heroin epidemic is our top focus.”

Garden City Police Commissioner Ernest Cipullo, Inspector Jackson and Detective/Sergeant Bartkowski attended and participated in this event.

In addition, Commissioner Cipullo states “The Garden City Police is already a party of this initiative and will be working very closely in the future with the Nassau County Police Department as well as other local law enforcement agencies in an effort to deter heroin use and to track and arrest subjects who supply heroin and other illicit drugs to our youth”.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice was also in attendance to lend her support to the County Executive’s latest initiatives.

Enforcement Initiative:

Operation H.A.L.T. (Heroin Abuse Location & Targeting), which is the County’s enforcement initiative, will target heroin users traveling in and out of the county to purchase heroin. “Through intelligence gathering, we have learned that the majority of heroin users travel out of the county to purchase heroin since organized distribution rings are limited here in Nassau County,” said Commissioner Mulvey. “The Nassau County Police Department has come across more of a ‘Casual Distribution Network,’ which is heroin users that travel out of the county, purchasing heroin for personal use and to distribute to friends who are also heroin users.”

Using investigative resources and talented law enforcement personnel this initiative will be looking to interrupt the flow of heroin into our county. “H.A.L.T.” will consist of 30 members of the Nassau County Police Department plus daily support from Nassau County Probation and our village, city and Suffolk County and federal partners. The Nassau County Police Department’s resources will include approximately 20 Narcotics Detectives, two Supervisors, four Officers from the Bureau of Special Operations and Anti-Crime and/or POP Officers from precincts, one Patrol Supervisor, two Highway Patrol Bureau Officers and one Canine Officer. In addition, the NCPD will utilize the Marine/Aviation Bureau when needed. As part of this initiative, County Executive Mangano has authorized the promotion of several Officers to the rank of Detective.

The initiative will have an upgraded and far reaching enforcement base that will include partnering with the FBI, DEA, Suffolk County Police Department and local Village Police Departments, which will enable us to identify and focus on heroin distributors and importers.