Drug users in LaPorte who take illegal drugs to the police won’t get arrested — instead they’ll get help finding addiction treatment.

It’s part of the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative launched at the LaPorte Police Department, WSBT reported.

“Drug addiction is a mental health issue and it needs to be treated as such,” LaPorte Police Chief Adam Klimczak told WSBT. “We’re not going to be able to arrest our way out of this problem.”

Residents who take drugs to the police department will meet with an officer who will connect the resident with a volunteer who will help them find drug treatment. The resident may need to pay for their own addiction treatment, but financial assistance might be available.

“From high class, to middle class, to low class, people are using heroin,” Klimczak told WSBT. “It’s not just the drug that’s in the alleys and streets anymore. It’s hitting a lot of these people in their homes with their own kids.”