DeWine, Dayton Police announce the battle against violent crime
In collaboration with state, local, and federal officials in Dayton, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced additional state resources to support current violence-reduction operations by the Dayton Police Department, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and federal partners.
The violent crime reduction initiatives are intelligence-driven operations in Dayton, where data shows repeat violent offenders are committing the most crime, according to a news release.
The Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center, the Ohio Investigative Unit, and the Ohio Adult Parole Authority also supported the recent decision.
“We are using the combined expertise of state, local and federal partners to specifically focus on the repeat violent offenders who continuously disregard the law and illegally carry guns in the city of Dayton,” DeWine said. “This work is already underway, and it will be carried out over the long term to regularly go after the individuals who are causing the most problems citywide.”
OSHP’s Aviation Unit would also support these initiatives from the sky, eliminating the need for dangerous traffic pursuits. If a suspect flees, the aviation team guides on-ground officers to the suspect’s location and flags any evidence, such as illegally possessed firearms, that the suspect has attempted to discard.
“Safety is more than a statistic. It’s a commitment,” Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Charles A. Jones said. “Our partnership in Dayton is focused on those driving violent crime so families can live without fear.”
Additionally, Ohio Department of Public Safety Director Andy Wilson discussed a new DPS website that catalogs felony arrests made as part of violent crime reduction operations across Ohio. According to Wilson, the website provides status updates on specific arrests to help the public follow these cases as they proceed through the state and federal courts.
“This new website will make it easier for the public to track these cases and watch the criminal justice system at work,” Wilson said. “These data-driven, intelligence-based operations are focused on the relatively small group of people committing crimes over and over again. When we get these individuals out of the community, we know we’ll be preventing future violence.”
Spectrum News 1 reported that DeWine signed House Bill 23 into law on Monday, creating an escaped convict alert program that would help officials locate and identify convicts who have escaped from a jail, workhouse or correctional institution while incarcerated or awaiting adjudication for a felony.
