Law Enforcement and Recovery service Providers Team Up to Provide Assessments for Treatment

Digital Reporter- Jeff Bohen

Local law enforcement a treatment agency and a county organization joined forces in a new way on Monday as part an effort to combat the opioid epidemic.

Bensalem Police, in coordination with Gaudenzia and the Bucks County Drug & Alcohol Commission, will be providing video screening assessments via teleconferencing to assist with our Bensalem Police Assisting in Recovery Program (BPAIR).

The BPAIR video assessments will take place at the police headquarters Monday through Friday’s, officials said and are for Bensalem resident’s only.

The partnership will enable official  to do a live video assessment within 20 minutes as opposed to appearing in person at an assessment site which often takes up to 4 hours. This will allow the assessor to begin a bed search or provide outpatient resources more expeditiously, officials said.

Police say 80 percent of arrests in Bensalem are drug related, however no specific data was offered to illustrate that statement.

Sources say there is a push to make this program or ones similar to it,  a statewide effort in the days to come.