Multicounty drug task force gets support
By: Chris Foreman
Star Beacon

Jefferson - Ashtabula County Sheriff William R. Johnson thinks a venture combining Ashtabula Geauga and Trumbull counties would reduce greatly the drug activity in the region.

Ashtabula County commissioners Joe Moroski and Debroah A. Newcomb voted Thursday to support a multicounty law enforcement task force. Johnson said the force permits the counties to pool money, resources, manpower and equipment to confront crime in northeast Ohio.

Trumbull County has received an $450,000 grant from the Ohio of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) to organize the venture, with the counties contributing a $150,000 match.  Ashtabula County appropriated $20,000 last year for the task forces' operation in 2003.  Grant money from the federal government drops, as it is months late in appropriating funding for 2004.  A federal conference committee planned for early February is expected to restore the funding, which sent $18 million to Ohio last year. 

Local officials said they have been told to the funding known as the Byrne program is being combined to create a larger justice assistance grant.  Nonetheless, OCJS issued a warning last week that the funding might be in jeopardy and encouraged counties and municipalities to contact their federal legislators. 

"We're not losing anything, Johnson said.  "It appears as if we're gaining." This year, Johnson said, the counties will attack more than the dug scene: Stolen vehicles and burglaries also will be among the crimes targeted.

The Sheriff was not specific , but said the task force will prioritize efforts based on troubled areas.  In Ashtabula county, that might mean a continuing effort to dismantle methamphetamine labs.  "It looks like we're the meth lab capital of the three counties, " Johnson said.

Jeff Orr was named as director of the task force last year.  Johnson touted the ability to be a part of an effort backed by $600,000 in funding.  The county previously secured about $85, 000 for its own narcotics task force, before OCJS denied funding for 2002. 

"It's really about the sharing of information"  Newcomb said.  "Criminals really don't know geographic boundaries.