Drug problems continue to plague Porter County, sheriff says

Porter County Sheriff Dave Reynolds said substance abuse is the No. 1 driving force behind a 33 percent increase in burglaries and an 8 percent increase in thefts across the unincorporated areas.

"Specifically heroin and opiate prescription drugs can be directly associated with almost all of these part 1 crimes," he said.

There were 118 burglaries reported across the unincorporated areas of the county last year, which was 33 percent more than the year before, Reynolds said. Most of the burglaries, or 82, involved residential structures, 25 were outbuildings, seven were businesses and four were storage units.

Police made 19 arrests stemming from about half of the residential burglaries and most of the remaining residential cases involved owners failing to lock their doors. Most of the burglaries involved the theft of pharmaceutical drugs, specifically opiates such as Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Vicodin and Xanax, he said.

Drug use is also fueling a health problem with 74 heroin overdoses last year, including 13 deaths, according to the sheriff's department. This amounts to an increase of nearly 30 percent.

There were 28 overdoses in the unincorporated areas last year, 21 in Portage, 14 in Valparaiso, 10 in Chesterton/Porter and one in Hebron.

Police and emergency medical officials were able to reverse 31 overdoses last year using the drug Naloxone, according to the sheriff's department. This amounted to six more than the year before.