Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder announced Thursday that fewer people are overdosing on heroin in the county.

Ryder says that fatal heroin overdoses this year are down 7 percent, and non-fatal overdoses are down 30 percent.

The commissioner says the drop is directly related to law enforcement identifying “hot areas.”

“For the last four days, we've been in the Farmingdale area. We've made over 50 arrests, 45 of which were drug-related,” says Ryder.

Steve Chassman with LICADD says the new stats are promising.

“I think community intervention and prevention has played a big role,” he says. “…I think we've seen some great legislation and money allotment from Albany and a host of parents and adolescents who have advocated for this change.”

Chassman says more education is still needed about harmful drugs.