PITTSFIELD, MA ( NEWS10 ) — Officials and organizations in Berkshire County are stepping up efforts to combat not only drug dealing but drug usage as well.
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Berkshire County District Attorney Timothy Sugrue says shootings in Pittsfield are down from 18 incidents in 2022 (many of which were drug-related) to 1 in 2023, which was a domestic dispute between teenagers. Simultaneously their jail population has also increased.
Shugrue credits this small city’s success to setting bail for drug sellers, and revoking bail when those defendants, who he says are often not addicts, commit further crimes. The DA says a big challenge is out-of-county drug and arms dealers coming to the Berkshires with the mentality that they’re soft on crime.
“When we first took office and we heard from the probation department in interviews, the defendants were well we heard it was OK to come to Berkshire County you wouldn’t get in trouble. All these people that were out on bail without any conditions that in fact, we’re still dealing drugs.”