Brown County and Scioto County: Living and Dying With Heroin

In the latest figures from the Ohio Department of Health, Scioto County remained near the top in unintended overdose deaths, just slightly behind Brown County. Both were two times the state average.

"During a recent time span (2007 to 2012), the average crude rate of unintended overdose deaths per 100,000 population showed Brown County at an average of 29.4, 

while Scioto County was at 27.4. Using the same measuring line, the numbers

based on age-adjusted rates showed Brown County with 29.6 and Scioto County at 29.2. 

Both were two times the state average."

(Frank Lewis. "Scioto County Placed 2nd Highest in State Drug-Deaths."  

Portsmouth Daily Times. April 18, 2014)

I thought it might be interesting to profile some traits of the average person in these counties.
The following information about Brown and Scioto counties has been taken from 2010 Census Bureau Statistics. 

Brown County Population

Population: 44,846

The racial makeup of the county was 98.08% White, 0.92% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.44% of the population were Hispanic or Latino.

Scioto County Population

Population: 79,499

The racial makeup of the county was 94.88% White, 2.73% Black or African American, 0.63% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.60% of the population were Hispanic or Latino.

Brown County Income

The median income for a household in the county was $38,303, and the median income for a family was $43,040. Males had a median income of $32,647 versus $22,483 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,100. 

About 8.80% of families and 11.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.20% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

Brown County unemployment rate is 23th highest in the state (88 counties) at 8.3% ((Department of Job and Family Services, February, 2014)

Scioto County Income

The median income for a household in the county was $28,008, and the median income for a family was $34,691. Males had a median income of $32,063 versus $21,562 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,408.

About 15.20% of families and 19.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.40% of those under age 18 and 12.80% of those age 65 or over.

Scioto County -- unemployment rate is 8th highest in the state (88 counties) at 10.9% (Department of Job and Family Services, February, 2014)

Brown County Living Conditions

There were 15,555 households out of which 37.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.30% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.20% were non-families. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.09.

Scioto County Living Conditions

There were 30,871 households out of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.30% were married couples living together, 13.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.96.

Brown County Crime

Between 2003 and 2008 there were 2,813 total crimes reported in Brown County, Ohio (96 of them violent). Of the 469 crimes that transpire each year in Brown County, just about one half take place less than a mile from home. On average, someone is a victim of a crime in Brown County, Ohio every 18 hours. This includes 2 murders, 25 rapes, and close to two thousand thefts (including 106 automobile thefts). (recordspedia.com)

Over that period of time, reported crime in Brown County has climbed by 90 per-cent. In the course of that same period, violent crime rose by 96 per-cent. Taken as a whole, the crime rates are a sign of a rapid worsening in crime over the last 6 years in Brown County.

Scioto County Crime

Between 1999 and 2008 there were 30,558 total crimes reported in Scioto County, Ohio (1,704 of them violent). Of the 3,056 crimes that occur a year in Scioto County, almost half happen less than a mile from home. On average, someone is a victim of a crime in Scioto County, Ohio every 2 hours. This includes 28 murders, 229 rapes, and more than twenty-one thousand thefts (including 1,699 motor vehicle thefts). (recordspedia.com)

Over that interval, reported crime in Scioto County increased by 10 percent. Over that same time frame, violent crime increased by 7 percent. Overall, the crime numbers reveal a gradual increase in crime over the last 10 years in Scioto County.

Total Crime Index For Scioto County (Grade A-F)

276.00

Violent Crime Index

255.43

Property Crime Index

324.00

(www.homefacts.com) 

The Profile of a BroSci

The averge BroSci (combination Brown and Scioto resident) comes from a sparsely populated, rural Southern Ohio environment on the banks of the Ohio River. That person is white and has very few minority neighbors, as Afro-Americans make up the majority of those non-white folks at 1.4% of the population.

The BroSci, if he or she works, has a yearly income of $27,189. Of course, close to 10% of the them are on unemployment. 15.5% of the BroSci's live below the poverty line -- approximately 19,274 people.

57% of the BroSci households live as married couples while 28% live as non-families -- all families with an average of 3 children per family. So, the odd are 4 in 10 couples live out of wedlock.

A BroSci lives in a high crime environment. At least one resident is victim of a crime about every 2 hours in the Sci region, while one person is victimized every 18 hours in the Bro area. A BroSci lives in an area that experiences far greater than normal criminal activity. The resident is surrounded by the criminal element. 

Heroin kills BroSci's in abundant numbers, at a rate at least two times the state average. While Sci population is higher by more than 54% than that of Bro population, a resident is more likely to die from overdose in either deadly, rural kill zone than anywhere else in Ohio.

Conclusions

I am neither qualified nor intelligent enough about heroin and its grip on this part of Ohio to make conclusions about effective countermeasures to stop the horrible addiction and senseless slaughter.
That is not to say that I am oblivious to some potential "problem areas" that exist. Now that heroin, an illegal opiate, has taken the place of prescription opiates as the top means to overdose, criminal enterprise is flourishing in Southern Ohio.

Why do area residents turn to addiction and all the criminal activity involved in the drug trade?

Although the ultimate answer lies within the addicted brain of each fatality, general statistics point towards the danger of association with other dependent personalities. Many succumb to negative influences and bad habits of friends, family, and trusted acquaintances. With highly addictive heroin, as with OxyContin, a few bad decisions can cost a user a lifetime of grief and pain.

In an area that offers little sustainable employment, the absence of work contributes directly to high rates of residents on the dole for public assistance. Some people surely supplement their incomes through dealing drugs. In a vicious cycle in which illegal activity on the streets feeds the larger enterprise of the supplier (originating out of the country) and the expensive addiction of the dealer, the profit made by selling drugs sustains a deadly business eventually leading the poor to prison, rehab, or death. Southern Ohio offers a ripe environment of foolhardy, undereducated targets primed for eventual destruction.

In addition, many area residents live in units that do not allow family values to nurture. Not only does this mean that many adult residents live below the poverty level, but it also demands that many children, the siblings in these families, do not receive sufficient aid and nurturing from the heads of a family that would allow these children to make decisions beneficial to their well being. Education begins in the family unit -- a healthy family sustains continued good healthy habits.

Lastly, new measures must be taken to free the area from crime. Addicts steal and commit other, more violent crimes to afford their heroin. Those addicted individuals must continue to commit crime after crime to feed their expensive habits. Enforcement, courts, and the public must work together to deter crimes and to enforce the law. Efforts to "shotgun" effective measures without a singular comprehensive strategy will only result in the capture of a few petty criminals. Drug sweeps must be ongoing while zero tolerance is instilled. Once and for all, the source of the local drug cartels must be brought to justice and convicted.  

"One little problem that confronts you
Got a monkey on your back
Just one more fix, Lord might do the trick
One hell of a price for you to get your kicks

"Ooh, that smell
Can't you smell that smell?
Ooh, that smell
The smell of death surrounds you"

From "That Smell" by Lynyrd Skynyrd