MADISON COUNTY, Ind. – Madison County Sheriff Scott Mellinger said there has been an uptick in burglaries and robberies in the area, and it’s the worst he’s seen in his 35-year career.
He said the desperation of addicts is profound and people will do anything to steal drugs.
“They'll break into houses. They'll break into storage sheds in the middle of the day. They will negotiate whatever deal they can with whomever to trade goods or to trade services,” said Mellinger. “I would argue that most of the time they're taking the drugs so that they don't hit rock bottom. So that they don't go through detox.”
The sheriff said those who are highly addicted – taking up to 10 hits of heroin per day -- don’t worry much about the consequences of their actions. He referenced an incident that occurred a little over a year ago, where the armed robber, after fleeing the scene, yelled to officers ‘shoot me, just shoot me.’
Once speaking with one of the officers later in the day, Mellinger said the suspect told police he knew that he was either going to rob the store to get money to buy drugs or the police would shoot him and either way, he was fine with the outcome.
Mellinger said he’s surprised how many people don’t lock their cars or homes.
“Don't think that just because it's daylight that you're safe, you need to be aware of what's going on around you,” he said. “Don't take for granted that if you're in your home or in your business, for that matter, and that you're in their doing work, that a desperate person is just not going to charge right inside and try to get something valuable, because they will.”
To combat the county’s problem, law enforcement is working to develop more medical and service provider partnerships to help people with addictions and mental health issues. He hopes parents in the community can also play a bigger role in educating their children.
“Our jail is the largest mental health and addictions facility in the county because that’s where a great number of these folks end up and they cannot be treated appropriately,” he said.
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Here is the first thing you should do if you notice signs that a loved one is struggling with addiction, according to central Indiana health departments:
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Find out if your loved one has health insurance, which can help them obtain treatment
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Visit the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration to learn treatment options
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Contact Parents of Addicted Loved Ones, who can give advice based on personal experiences
Other resources include Aspire Indiana, Clean Slate and the FSSA Addiction Services.
