3. A Community-Based Response to the Opioid-Epidemic-Linked Crime in Dayton, Ohio

The Dayton, OH, Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program (BCJI) site embarked on a multi-sector partnership effort focused on the reduction of opioid addiction, overdose deaths, and property crime directly associated with opioid users in the target neighborhood. Within the context of a broader effort, a community-based, non-arrest strategy directed at opioid addicts was developed, utilizing a motivational interviewing program intervention. The planned set of program interventions had two effects: first, more opioid addicts entered treatment as a result of the community engagement effort. Second, information gleaned from the ongoing dialogue with addicts helped accelerate several community-based efforts. These included opening a site for medication-assisted treatment and a newly formed collaboration between the police department and a local community service organization that expanded outreach to those who had been saved by naloxone treatment after an overdose. The BCJI program in Dayton reinforced the idea that crime reduction must be embedded in a community collaboration. The BCJI process enabled a shared policy and program space in which participants could bring their contacts, knowledge, and skills together. The final set of program innovations plied in Dayton exemplified the goals and aspirations of the BCJI program.