U.S. Attorneys Justin Herdman, David DeVillers and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced today that the Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) has awarded the Ohio Attorney General’s Organized Crime Investigations Commission $3,658,998 in funding to combat the illegal manufacture and distribution of heroin and prescription opioids in Ohio.
“Every day in Ohio, we continue to see the adverse effects that the heroin and opioid epidemic have in our community," said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman. “This funding will help the Ohio Attorney General’s office continue their great work against this epidemic and support our law enforcement officers on the front lines."
“One of the biggest challenges facing Ohio is opioid related overdose deaths, specifically involving fentanyl," said U.S. Attorney David DeVillers. "The only way to effectively combat this crisis is through coordination and cooperation with our state and local partners. This award will go a long way to assure that this is accomplished."
“We appreciate the partnership and the additional funding that will be used to disrupt the supply chain of illegal drugs in Ohio," said Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. “OOCIC’s interdiction task forces strive to stay a step ahead of the ever evolving drug dealers who plague on our street and poison our youth. They aren’t stopping, but we aren’t either."
“The scourge of opioid and methamphetamine use continues to take a devastating toll on our nation’s communities," said COPS Office Director Phil Keith. “By providing these resources to law enforcement to help combat the further spread, the COPS Office is demonstrating our commitment to this Administration’s priority of reducing drug use and protecting our citizens from this public health and safety crisis."
The COPS Office is awarding more than $29.7 million in grant funding to 14 state law enforcement agency task forces through the Anti-Heroin Task Force Program (AHTF). The AHTF program provides three years of funding directly to state-level law enforcement agencies with multijurisdictional reach and interdisciplinary team (e.g., task force) structures, in states with high per capita rates of primary treatment admissions for heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil, and other opioids.
This funding will support the location or investigation of illicit activities through statewide collaboration related to the distribution of heroin, fentanyl, or carfentanil or the unlawful distribution of prescription opioids. AHTF funding has a significant impact on state investigative and seizure work. During the five-month period between October 2019 and February 2020, current AHTF grantees reported the seizure of over $4 million in cash and 1,213 firearms.
The complete list of Anti-Heroin Task Force Program award recipients, including funding amounts, can be found here: https://cops.usdoj.gov/ahtf-award
The COPS Office is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 135,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training and technical assistance. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
