There were 135 reported drug overdoses in Wareham last year. Fifteen people died. This year, 20 overdoses have been reported and one person has died.

Now, law enforcement officials throughout Plymouth County are teaming up to offer help, rather than handcuffs, to addicts.

“We have friends, we have family that this epidemic is touching, said Wareham Police Chief Kevin Walsh. “At one time, we had a stereotypical view of drug users... Now we have people that are hooked on opiates. Some are wearing sweatsuits and some are wearing business suits.”

On Tuesday, Walsh told Selectmen that the epidemic’s scope prompted him to get the department involved in Project Outreach. A There were 135 reported drug overdoses in Wareham last year. Fifteen people died. This year, 20 overdoses have been reported and one person has died.

Now, law enforcement officials throughout Plymouth County are teaming up to offer help, rather than handcuffs, to addicts.

“We have friends, we have family that this epidemic is touching, said Wareham Police Chief Kevin Walsh. “At one time, we had a stereotypical view of drug users... Now we have people that are hooked on opiates. Some are wearing sweatsuits and some are wearing business suits.”

On Tuesday, Walsh told Selectmen that the epidemic’s scope prompted him to get the department involved in Project Outreach. A county-wide initiative, the program brings together police and healthcare professionals who offer treatment options to addicts immediately following an overdose. All 26 communities in Plymouth County are participating.

When an overdose occurs, the victim is offered recovery options while in the hospital. If treatment is refused, a plainclothes police officer will visit the person’s residence within 24 hours once released from the hospital.

The officer is joined by representatives from a recovery/treatment agency, such as High Point Treatment Center.

The officer introduces the health professional, who offers advice and treatment options.

“We want these people to look at the resources and get some help,” said Walsh.

Walsh said a person is free to turn down the help, but if they do, their information will be put into a database that will soon be available to all Plymouth County law enforcement agencies, thanks to a $20,000 grant.

A person who overdoses a second time will no longer have the option to say “no” to treatment.

“Police will petition the court to have that person forcibly go into a treatment program,” said Walsh. “We will force the issue at that point.”

So far, two Wareham residents have accepted the offer of treatment through Project Outreach.

Wareham is second only to Plymouth in the number of overdoses that occur annually, Walsh noted, adding that the average age of a person who overdoses is 27 years old. The age of people who have overdosed ranges from 19 to 55.

Though Project Outreach is a step in the right direction, Walsh explained that police action alone won’t stop the epidemic.

“It will take a combination of law enforcement, education and preventive measures,” he said.