ROSSFORD, Ohio — The Rossford and Perrysburg Township police departments plan to work together to stop crime in the Fremont Pike and I-75 area that straddles their municipalities.
"We're talking thousands and thousands of dollars in one instance," said Rossford police Lt. Craig Revill when talking about retail theft in the area. "We get a lot of retail theft which sort of has evolved over the past few years."
He said theft on Fremont Pike has become more organized through lots of people working together to steal.
The two departments are already working together when it comes to theft on U.S. 20 because the communities are so close together.
"We work well with Rossford because we all are experiencing the same problem," said Perrysburg Twp. officer Scott Mezinger during a ride-along Wednesday.
The partnership would dedicate officers from both departments to patrol the area. The combined effort will cover more than just retail thefts, too, tackling weapons,
Officials from both departments said this combined effort will go deeper than addressing retail thefts. It'll also tackle the trafficking of weapons, bulk currency and drugs on I-75.
"Everything starts on the interstate," Revill said. "That's where the drugs come from. That's how they're transported from different communities."
Revill said the teamwork will benefit the community, by helping to keep drugs out and possibly help when it comes to prices in the stores.
"Everybody knows the more retail theft you have, the higher price the goods go," Revill said. "By establishing this team, their sole responsibility will be to try and prevent those offenses from occurring."
Revill said the partnership is still in the early stages and said it could take a few weeks to get started. He said it also should not affect current patrol efforts in the communities.
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