Heroin death rates rise in 2014

The heroin-related death rate for Jefferson County more than doubled in 2014. According Deputy Coroner Bill Yates of the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office, there were 129 confirmed heroin deaths last year, compared to 58 in 2013.

Across the county, the number of deaths from heroin overdose has been rising each year since 2010, when there were 12 deaths. The growth between 2013 and 2014 was the largest single increase since that time. 

Yates had records of six heroin deaths in Hoover this year, though Captain Gregg Rector of the Hoover Police Department said the police estimate stands at 10 fatalities. Rector said the disparity comes from cases where heroin paraphernalia is found at the scene of the death, but toxicology reports are inconclusive. 

Around Hoover, other cities experienced even higher numbers of fatalities. Within the city limits of Birmingham, 55 heroin-related deaths occurred in 2014, and Homewood and Vestavia Hills each had seven confirmed deaths.

Rector said 2014’s totals are “the most deaths we’ve ever had documented” since the police began keeping records of heroin overdoses in 2011, and numbers have been steadily increasing. He said many people with addictions to prescription medications turn to heroin as an alternative because it is much cheaper and easier to find.

“That [prescription medication] becomes a very expensive habit,” Rector said. “Heroin was providing the drug addicts with the same high that the prescription drugs were providing.”

The Hoover police have begun training patrol officers to recognize heroin paraphernalia and the signs of use. Detectives are also doing more thorough interviews with people arrested for possession of heroin, and Rector said the police hope to trace some of Hoover’s heroin back to its source.