INCREASE IN SOME CRIMES BLAMED ON OXYCONTIN, HEROIN

As police predicted, the North Shore saw an upswing in housebreaks,
bank robberies and purse snatchings last year - crimes police blamed
directly on the continued use of OxyContin and heroin.

"We've seen it," said District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett. "That
increase, that rise, was fueled by (opiate) abuse ... from people who
are addicted." Figures provided by Blodgett's office show an increase
in armed robbery, assault and battery, burglary, shoplifting and
unarmed robbery. A dramatic jump was seen in home invasions, which
more than doubled, from 12 prosecuted cases in 2004 to 25 in 2005.

Blodgett said he's also concerned about the number of firearms seized
by the Essex County Drug Task Force last year. The number doubled,
from 14 in 2004 to 25 in 2005.

"When you have drugs, you have guns," he said. "Unequivocally, the
two go together." North Shore police have no doubt opiate addicts are
influencing crime rates. "When a person is on drugs and they need
drugs, they'll steal anything," said Beverly Patrolman Brian Long,
the department's crime analysis officer. Police in Danvers saw a
decrease in housebreaks in 2005. But other robbery reports, including
bank holdups, increased 38 percent, from eight in 2004 to 11 in 2005.
Christopher Bruce, the Danvers Police Department's crime analyst,
said the most telling figure is the number of drug incidents
involving heroin. From 1998 to 2003, they averaged five calls a year.
In 2004, police investigated 15 incidents involving heroin, and last
year that number rose to 17. Veteran drug detectives aren't shocked.

"I'm seeing a lot of heroin," said Salem Detective William Jennings.
"Younger and younger kids that started with OxyContin and are now
hooked on heroin." Early this year, Jennings said he arrested a
27-year-old woman, who once attended an Ivy League college, for
breaking into at least three city homes to feed a heroin habit.