A Shared Overdose Response Team for Small Police Agencies
An Investigator and a Peer on Every Overdose
The Pulaski County Sheriff's Office hired a dedicated overdose investigator and a peer recovery specialist to respond to overdoses across the county, connect people and families to treatment, recovery, and grief resources, distribute opioid response kits when feasible, and investigate the source of the drug supply.
The Challenge They Were Addressing
Central Arkansas carried a high overdose burden relative to other parts of the state. County leaders had discussed standing up a dedicated overdose response team for a couple of years, an idea first raised by Kirk Lane and the team after they looked at the number of overdoses in the region. When opioid settlement funding became available, the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office moved the idea into action.
Many smaller police agencies in the county did not have the resources to investigate overdoses in depth or to provide sustained support to victims and families. At the same time, traditional enforcement had focused on arresting people who use drugs rather than treating addiction as a health issue and connecting people to treatment. Law enforcement needed a way to move beyond arrest alone, to add treatment and resource connection while still addressing the drug supply. Stigma inside law enforcement about people who have dealt with addiction was part of what the team set out to change through education and trust.
The Sheriff's Office was not starting from nothing. It had run the CSI Reentry program since 2019, which built treatment and recovery partnerships inside the jail and earned trust with peers who have lived experience of addiction and recovery. Those existing relationships and that credibility became the foundation on which the Overdose Response Team was built.
What They Built
The Sheriff's office, as the lead and fiscal agent, houses the Overdose Response Team that pairs a dedicated overdose investigator with a certified peer recovery specialist. Together, they respond to overdoses within the county and across five participating municipal agencies (Sherwood, Alexander, Jacksonville, Cammack Village, Maumelle), connecting individuals and families to treatment, recovery, and grief resources, distributing opioid response kits when feasible, and investigating the source of the narcotics.
When a participating agency reports a suspected overdose, the Sheriff's Office assists rather than takes over the investigation. Fatal overdoses usually prompt immediate notification, and the sergeant over the team determines whether the team responds to the scene or follows up afterward, weighing safety factors. The team reviews active overdose cases each day. The investigator conducts the source investigation, while the peer specialist contacts victims and families and connects them to resources.
For nonfatal overdoses, the team may respond on scene or follow up later. People often wake up after naloxone use angry and not ready to engage, so the team makes multiple attempts to contact them over time. Follow-up moves from day-by-day to weekly to monthly for people willing to stay in contact. The team recognizes that not every contact results in a service connection, and it continues to reach out to those who want to be reached.
For fatal overdoses, the peer specialist supports families with grief resources and practical next steps, including therapy resources for children and connections to organizations that help families manage funeral costs and set up fundraising. The team has driven across the state to make family contact in person when a person who died had no family in Pulaski County.
Key Program Components
Who You Need at the Table
What made a willing partner essential vs. optional?
The required partners are the ones the team could not operate without: the Sheriff's Office as lead and fiscal agent; the five municipal agencies that report overdoses and request help; the peer specialist; and the treatment and recovery providers the team trusts to accept referrals. The team leans on the same providers it built through CSI Reentry over the last six to seven years, and it prioritizes providers that do not require insurance, because coverage is one of the hardest barriers for the people it serves.
The team was clear that most of these relationships are held together by trust rather than a grant requirement. The grant does not require the peer role, but the team deems it essential to the people it serves. Bringing the peer and investigator face-to-face to meet with each participating agency, rather than making the case by phone, turned buy-in into working partnerships.
Budget Breakdown
What is the minimum viable budget to replicate this?
A rural or smaller county with about $75,000 does not need a big team to start. Begin with the narcotics investigator or the responding law enforcement capacity the agency already has, since the agency is likely responding to overdoses. Add or partner with a peer specialist, or meet with an organization that may already have one, so that the funds can cover a partial salary rather than a full salary. Meet the treatment and recovery providers in the area, build a basic resource guide, and buy or assemble naloxone and opioid response kits if the budget allows. Train the investigators on addiction and local resources. Start small, build on existing infrastructure, and bring tangible resources, such as naloxone, to the table.
What Worked and Why
Specific decisions or design features that drove success
Leadership support set the tone. The Sheriff backed the model and signaled that the office would give people with lived experience a chance and believe in them. Staff fed off that positivity, and it opened the field for peers and law enforcement to trust one another.
Pairing an investigator with a peer specialist made both sides stronger. The investigator works on the source of the narcotics while the peer makes family and victim contact and connects people to resources. People and families often hear a peer when they will not hear anyone else, and the peer's presence on scene changed how partner agencies saw the work.
Face-to-face introductions won over participating agencies. The sergeant met each agency head in person and brought the peer and the investigator to the table, rather than making the case by phone. The clear promise that the Sheriff's Office assists rather than takes over an agency's case removed the fear of losing control of an investigation.
The team drew on relationships and partnerships it already had. Interagency relationships built by leadership over decades made the introductions easier, and the CSI Reentry partnerships gave the team a set of trusted treatment and recovery providers from day one. The team keeps an updated resource guide and learns each provider's requirements, including which programs accept people without insurance, because detox centers can close or change their terms.
The team defines success broadly and consistently tracks its work. A life saved with naloxone, a family that felt heard, a treatment connection, a peer call-back months later, agency buy-in, and a source investigation all count. Consistent data tracking supports the case for continued funding and helps the team refine where the need is.
Early outcomes and data
Two significant charges since launch: one aggravated death by delivery and one death by delivery, reported as early milestones.
Multiple people were assisted with treatment, including detox placements in- and out-of-state.
Opioid response kits with naloxone and safety supplies were distributed to victims and families, or left at the home when no one answered.
Participating agencies are asked to carry opioid response kits in their patrol cars.
Growing agency buy-in, including agencies calling to request the peer for their own overdose cases.
Service volume was being compiled; the next quarterly data set was forthcoming at the time of the interview.
Lessons Learned
Plan for a slower start than the timeline implies. After the county receives a grant, it must still go through the county governing body before positions can be filled, delaying implementation. Build in time for county acceptance and procurement before the team is operating.
Choose the right team members. The selection process matters as much as the funding. Look for patience, empathy, and the ability to see a person first and a case second, and pick people who believe in the work.
Treat the peer as an equal partner. Lived experience in both addiction and recovery lets a peer connect in ways no training can teach. Protect their time, support their wellness, and treat them as an equal partner.
Know your recovery system and keep it up to date. Know which providers are legitimate, what they require, and whether they accept uninsured patients. Providers close or change, so check in with them and update the resource guide.
Define success broadly and document it. Count lives saved with naloxone, families that felt heard, treatment connections, peer call-backs, agency buy-in, and source investigations. Document contacts, resources offered, and outcomes, because the data shows impact and protects the team.
Be patient and consistent. Engagement might take several attempts, and recovery might take years. Meet people where they are, and let patience and consistency carry the work.