BAINBRIDGE – Today, Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14) applauded the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office for awarding the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission a $3,658,998 grant. This funding was awarded through the COPS Office’s effective Anti-Heroin Task Force program and will support the Commission’s efforts to combat the illegal manufacturing and distribution of methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil and prescription opioids.

 

“One of my top priorities is to ensure federal funding effectively supports all of the life-saving work Ohio communities are carrying out on the front lines of the opioid crisis,” said Joyce. “I’m proud to have consistently voted to increase funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services Office and look forward to seeing how this $3.6 million grant can help the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission root out illicit drug activity. Drugs like heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl have been breaking apart families and threatening the safety of our communities for far too long. I applaud all the great work Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and our law enforcement officers on the Commission do to prevent these illicit drugs from causing further devastation in the Buckeye State and will continue to do everything I can to support them.”

 

“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.”  

 

Established in 1986, the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission assists local law enforcement agencies in combatting organized crime and corrupt activities, including the possession, manufacturing or trafficking of drugs, and/or funding drug abuse. The Commission is composed of members of the law enforcement community and is chaired by the Ohio Attorney General. 

 

Since coming to Congress, Joyce has helped secure significant funding increases each year for COPS Office programs, such as the Anti-Heroin Task Force, totaling $144.5 million since Fiscal Year 2012. The Anti-Heroin Task Force 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. Current Anti-Heroin Task Force grantees reported the seizure of over $4 million in cash and 1,213 firearms during the five-month period between October 2019 and February 2020. 

 

 

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