ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The Orange County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday morning presented new crime statistics and discussed the county's opioid crisis during its annual Community Crime Summit at the Rosen Centre.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said that the county has among the most opioid overdoses in the state.
"The opioid crisis is really a No. 1 issue for us here in Orange County, and everything that comes along with it," Demings said. "Each day, we respond to two to three overdoses, and we have two to three deaths each week."
Dr. Geore Ralls, the county's director of health and public safety, said Wednesday that overdoses kill more people in the county than car crashes and shootings combined.
Ralls said about two-thirds of drug overdoses involve opioids, including heroin and prescription painkillers.
The majority of fatal heroin overdoses in the county during 2015 -- the most recent year for which statistics are available -- involved white and Hispanic men between age 30 and 45.
Cox Media Group
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