Regina Police Service Comes Public After 18 Alleged Fatal Overdoses in 30 Days – Regina | The Canadian News

The Regina Police Service issued a petition to residents after responding to 18 suspected fatal overdoses in November alone.

“It is a struggle to make this message stand out in a busy and difficult year. But we are asking, even begging, people to stop for a moment to consider the clear and present danger of fentanyl and other drugs in our city, ”the RPS said in a statement.

“This drug is killing fathers, mothers, children, siblings, friends, neighbors, and colleagues.”

“And it is ruining the lives of many more people.”

In November 2021, the RPS Communications Center transferred 231 calls to EMS for fatal and non-fatal drug overdoses.

In October 2021, there were 19 apparent overdose deaths in Regina.

From January 1 to December 1, 2021, the RPS Communications Center received and transferred 1,641 calls to EMS for drug overdoses. So far this year, officers have accompanied EMS on 299 of those overdose calls. Of those calls, 137 involved people who died from apparent drug overdoses.

According to the Saskatchewan Forensic Service in Regina, 81 deaths from drug toxicity have been confirmed in 2021 as of November 3.

Sergeant. Donna Wall has been with RPS for 28 years and said the topic of drugs and overdoses has changed “dramatically” since it began in the 1990s.

At the time, he said officers would respond to about one overdose call a month.

He said calls vary weekly, but now there are times during a 12-hour shift, day or night, when agents can take at least three or four overdose calls.

When it started, Wall said the drug of choice seemed to be PCP or cocaine, in addition to alcohol. In the past two years, you’ve seen an increase in the use of crystalline methamphetamine and fentanyl.

“(Fentanyl is) a drug that I did not expect to encounter in my career and that has impacted the lives of so many people. And it is not usually just the person who is the victim. It is the families that are affected, “Wall told reporters on Friday.

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“It is not a certain variety or a certain class of people who are affected by this drug. This drug is affecting all classes, whether it is someone who is a student, someone who works in a restaurant-type environment, or (someone) who has a professional occupation. “

Wall said that in recent months, she and other officers have responded to more overdoses and there has been an increase in fatalities.

Wall said officers also have to respond to family members who are reacting to stressful and tragic situations.

“Sometimes there is someone sitting there quietly, or someone can get extremely violent and very agitated and try to fight us,” Wall said.

He explained that sometimes the officers’ job is to protect EMS workers if necessary, or to comfort family members who are suffering.

There are times when officers may need to administer more than one dose of Narcan in order for a person to be alert.

Wall recalled a case in which a man overdosed in a car and needed three doses of Narcan to wake him up.

She has seen up to five doses of Narcan used in another case.

RPS is asking the public to educate themselves, their family and friends about the dangers of drug use.

The police service is also telling the public not to let someone use drugs alone and learn about naloxone and how to get one. Free take-home kit.

the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Law provides some legal protection for people seeking help while experiencing or witnessing an overdose.

Wall said this is a public safety issue.

“It’s a social problem that we have … adding more first responders … is not going to be the solution,” Wall said.

“It has to be an approach that involves the community,” he said, where people addicted to drugs get the help they need.

He added that a public safety effort is needed to find solutions, including family members who act as advocates and work in partnership with counseling and addiction outreach programs.

“I believe that we all, as a community, have a role to play in this, and we are all responsible for finding solutions and working together to try to reduce the drugs that are on the streets that are killing people.”