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Mentor retail theft detail leads to drop in drug-related crimes

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Mentor police set out to thwart drug-related retail theft with a pilot program launched in 2015.

Now results are showing a correlation between the Retail Theft Crime Deterrence Program and a plunge in addicts stealing to support their habit.

Out of 81 arrests last year, nearly 60 were of admitted drug addicts. The overwhelming drug of choice continues to be heroin.

Midway through this year, the grant-funded program has produced 38 arrests, 86 charges, 10 warrants and nearly $8,000 worth of recovered goods. Of those apprehended, only 14 were addicts. [Read more…]

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Cleveland Clinic panel discussion on opioids coming to Willoughby Hills

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A Cleveland Clinic panel discussion on the opioid crisis is coming to Willoughby Hills.

“Heroin, Fentanyl and Carfentanil: The Triple Threat at Our Doorstep” will be held June 28 in St. Noel’s Banquet Center, 35200 Chardon Road.

“Triple Threat” is a series of panel discussions that “bring residents, community partners and local experts together to engage in open conversation about the opioid epidemic” according to the Cleveland Clinic. The Clinic said the events “empower community members by connecting them to the resources and information they need to combat the opioid crisis.” [Read more…]

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Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies keep the peace by working together

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Just like robbers rob banks because that’s where the money is, and criminals don’t stop at the state line, law enforcement agencies at all levels work together regularly to investigate crimes and prosecute offenders.

From one-time bank robberies to suspected terrorist attacks and everything in between, law enforcement entities from local and county, to state and federal levels cooperate every day, according to the men and women who work in the industry.

“Local law enforcement has always worked with other agencies,” said Mentor Police Chief Kevin Knight in a May 31 telephone interview. “Everybody has their different areas of experience and expertise, so it’s just a natural thing that we help each other out. That’s how it is. That’s how it’s always been.” [Read more…]

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Chief deputy: Treatment, not arrest, best prescription for addiction

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Every day, Sgt. Shawn Pak saw the damage heroin and opioids cause in his job at the Franklin County jail. And the deputy with the county sheriff’s office believed addicts were responsible for their own misery.

“It was kind of businesslike, kind of a detached view,” Pak said.

That view changed, though, when the brother of Pak’s best friend became addicted to heroin, bringing to his family the pain and helplessness so many other families have suffered.

Pak changed his attitude after “seeing the pain in my best friend’s eyes” when he told Pak about the horror addiction imposed on his family. The family’s matriarch, who is like a second mother to Pak, is now terrified by the telephone.

“She told me, ‘Every time the phone rings, I’m expecting it be be the call that he’s dead,’” Pak said. [Read more…]

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Yost supports photo IDs on benefits cards, food stamp reforms

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While state Auditor Dave Yost wants to see some changes made to the food stamp program at the federal level, he is also working on getting photo IDs on the state’s electronic benefits cards as a way to deter fraud.

Yost was in town recently and met with some of The Daily Record staff, and publisher Bill Albrecht asked about what some of the top issues are.

The No. 1 issue is the opioid epidemic, Yost said. “Everyone’s talking about it, but no one knows what to do,” he said.

The state has experienced weak revenue for the past eight months, and Yost said he is not sure if it is the result of a soft economy or tax policy. [Read more…]

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Heroin: Your first time may be your last

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