Council Hears Strategy on Prevent, Treat, Enforce

At the March 23 Salem City Council meeting, City Manager Krishna Namburi briefed the council on plans to launch a strategy for drug/substance use prevention, treatment and enforcement. Substance use continues to impact public safety, livability and community wellbeing. It remains one of the top concerns identified by the community.

The City is mapping existing resources, identifying service gaps and clarifying roles in these efforts. Early findings highlight gaps in enforcement capacity and emphasize importance of partnerships.

City staff is using an assessment and engagement tool to examine the current strategy, including:

• Understanding available services
• Mapping government agency and community partner roles
• Identifying gaps and opportunities
• Tracking prevention, treatment and enforcement

The City's goal is to connect, align and advocate for coordinated services, as well as to advocate for system improvements in areas outside the City's direct control.

The City's Role

The City works to connect partners, align resources and advocate for system improvements. It also plays specific roles in these areas:

Prevention: youth programs, opioid prevention, library programs, Community Violence Reduction Initiative, safe parks, Police Homeless Services Team, Community Services programs.

Treatment: Fire REACH (Rapid Engagement, Assessment & Community Health Team), medical assistance and treatment, referral to community-based programs and resources, 9-1-1.

Enforcement: Police Department.

Community Coordination

The City will coordinate with a wide range of community and regional organizations on all three key focus areas of the Prevent-Treat-Enforce strategy. Examples include:

• Schools
• Healthcare
• Neighborhood programs
• Treatment resources and services
• Law enforcement, prosecution and reform

Gaps

The City will also continue to explore ways to identify and resolve system gaps in areas such as:

• Need for stronger prevention strategies
• Enforcement and justice system constraints
• Limited treatment capacity
• Data sharing
• Jail space

Staff plans to return to City Council with an update on this subject in late May.