NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — North Charleston police issued a rare overdose spike alert this week after five overdoses were reported within a 24-hour period in a half-mile radius of the city, prompting an urgent push to deliver life-saving resources into the affected community.
The alert was generated through the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, commonly known as ODMAP, a national system that allows law enforcement and emergency responders to track overdose incidents in near real time.
“If we have five in a 24-hour period within a half-mile radius, we need to go now,” said Shelby Joffrion, the Opioid Prevention Coordinator with the North Charleston Police Department. “That’s how we know it’s time to mobilize.”…