Falmouth Police Create Mobile Program To Teach Parents About Teen Drug Use
FALMOUTH (CBS) - With the highest number of opioid deaths on the Cape, Falmouth has seen the number of opioid deaths climb from seven in 2013 to 20 in 2017. So the police are taking the fight to the parents.
Many police departments around the state have educational programs teaching parents how to identify teen drug use. Sometimes the programs are called "Hidden in Plain Sight." Now, the Falmouth police have put the program on wheels.
"Wherever parents are gathered ... soccer games, lacrosse, we can take the program to them with the trailer," said Chief Ed Dunne.
They've taken a trailer and turned it into a teenager's bedroom. And Sergeant Jamie Donahue is trained in how to spot hiding places for drugs.
"See this Aquafina water bottle? It actually has a false bottom in it," he said, demonstrating. And if you saw it in a room, seemingly full of water, you'd never know.
"And this hairbrush? The end comes off. It's hollow."
Even a seemingly innocuous Gumby poster is actually the cartoon character playing beer-pong. And a stuffed animal on the bed could be full of weed.
What funded the program? Seized drug money from drug dealers.
