An increase in heroin cases in the state line area has police concerned. Four Illinois teens are awaiting extradition to Wisconsin, in connection with a heroin-related death in Beloit. It's becoming a common trend, according to Beloit Police Captain Bill Tyler. "It's very disturbing, because we've seen a lot of overdoses and a lot of deaths related to heroin," said Tyler.
Tyler said it's hard to catch the problem early on, because family members don't want to turn relatives over to police, despite the crimes addiction can lead to. "Family members know that loved ones or family members or friends have addiction to heroin or other narcotics, and they steal to provide it," he said. "The addiction rate is very high, and what that does is it fuels a lot of thefts and forgeries, the check crimes and the stealing from relatives."
Tyler said there's been an increase in heroin cases around the area between Rockford and Janesville. "That runs across the gamut of socioeconomic factors," said Tyler. "We see that a lot in middle class families, that's become quite noticeable in the past year and a half or so."
