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NILES -- Police Chief Jay Holland announced the city will use a portion of a $150,000 opioid settlement to purchase an Apex R7 Raman Spectrometer, a handheld light spectrometry device, for the police department's street crimes unit.
Costing less than $15,000, the device identifies drugs like cocaine, heroin and fentanyl on site without officers needing to open bags, which reduces exposure risks, particularly to fentanyl.
"It's a compact version of lab technology," Holland said, explaining that the Apex R7 scans through packaging for safe, immediate analysis.
Equipped with a library of 24,000 substances, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, narcotics and explosives, the device offers rapid and precise identification. While it serves as a field test, samples will still be sent to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation for formal lab verification in high-level felony cases.
Holland highlighted its importance as fentanyl is increasingly mixed with drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine.
"This technology is a game-changer for our team," he said.
Niles Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz touted the strategic use of the opioid settlement funds.
"We didn't want to nickel-and-dime this. The chief and I developed a comprehensive plan to ensure these funds help our street crimes unit fight the opioid epidemic effectively," he said.
The Apex R7, primarily for the street crimes unit but available to all officers, "will provide immediate results, identify laced narcotics, and enhance officer safety."
Combined with the purchase of two police cruisers to update the fleet, these expenditures nearly exhaust the city's settlement share. Developed with the U.S. Department of Defense, the pocket-sized Apex R7 has undergone testing for reliability, Holland said.