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Light Rain D.A. candidates both fighting heroin
Madeline Singas, Kate Murray favor differing tactics against growing problem
In their race for Nassau County district attorney, Madeline Singas and Kate Murray are both trying to prove that they are primed to take on Long Island’s heroin problem — and that they are approaching it in two very different ways.
In July, Murray, the current Town of Hempstead supervisor, was endorsed by the Nassau County police unions. Making the most of that support, she held a press conference on Sept. 1, and called for the formation of a police task force to combat the heroin problem.
Singas quickly shot back, saying that such a task force already existed — and it does. The Nassau County Heroin Prevention Task Force was created in 2009 by then-County Executive Tom Suozzi and former D.A. Kathleen Rice.
However, the task force Murray called for and the one that exists are different beasts. The current group focuses on community organizing and spreading information about heroin — the signs of use, what it can do and how to get treatment.
The Nassau County Police Department responded to Murray’s call, announcing on Sept. 15 that it would launch a department heroin task force.
“I am pleased that Nassau officials have responded to my call to create a heroin task force at the police department level,” Murray said in a release. “Fatal heroin overdoses have soared by over 100 percent this year and taking drug dealers off the streets is an important part of the war on heroin.”
According to Nassau police, fatal overdoses in the first eight months of the year doubled from their total in 2014, from 18 to 36.
The new police task force will consist of eight detectives: four who are being reassigned from the Bureau of Special Operations, and four others with extensive experience, who will be replaced with new promotions. The force will be funded with NCPD operating funds.
