Community Collaboration

Covington County District Attorney’s Office (Andalusia, AL)

Population: 37,570 | Number of Full-Time Prosecutors: 3 | Contact Information

The Covington County District Attorney’s Office (CCDA) has created an Opioid Abuse & Prevention Task Force, which includes paramedics, law enforcement, an administrator, a training coordinator, an investigator, and a prosecutor.

To combat opioid related deaths, this Task Force responds to all overdose scenes to determine if another party played a role in the death or injury of the victim. The task force also hosts trainings for the region’s law enforcement and first responders on proper procedures for securing and processing overdose scenes, as well as techniques for interviewing witnesses to enlist future cooperation and future intervention in overdose cases. This Innovative Prosecution Solutions team has provided Overdose Response Packs to every police department, fire department, paramedic unit, and rescue squad in the county to keep first responders safe when encountering opiate and other dangerous drugs in the field. The CCDA also hosted conferences to educate local doctors and pharmacists on the dangers of overprescribing opioids and hired a work-study student to facilitate public discourse and promote community prevention practices regarding illegal opioid use.