Sheriff Smith teams up with surrounding counties as part of his plan to curb drug use in Athens County.
Eight people died of drug overdose in Athens County during 2014, a number identical to the previous year, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
For Athens County Sheriff Rodney Smith — who has made fighting drug abuse a central mission for his department — it is a concerning number.
According to the Ohio Department of Health, Athens has an overdose rate of 19.1 per 100,000 people. Cuyahoga County — who had the most drug overdoses in 2014 — may have more deaths, but its rate is lower than Athens: 16.2 per 100,000.
The highest rates are mostly concentrated in southern Ohio, meaning that this is not a problem solely facing Smith.
Smith is changing the way Athens County fights drug use by expanding the “long arm of the law” beyond the edges of his home county by collaborating with law enforcement agencies outside of the county.
On July 1, 2014, Athens County joined Fairfield and Hocking counties as a part of the Major Crimes Unit, which allows the three counties to easily share information and resources, Smith said.
All three have access to state-of-the-art equipment, paid for by the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant and Organized Crime and Gang Section Grant.
“This tent is big enough for all of us,” Smith said. “With the Major Crimes Unit, we have the ability to trace drugs even if they’re coming from out of state, and we’re going to go after the out-of-state dealers.”
Smith was appointed as Athens County Interim Sheriff in April 2014. Before his appointment, relationships were strained between the Athens County Sheriff’s Office and police forces both inside and outside of the county in the wake of former Sheriff Pat Kelly’s dismissal, according to testimony during Kelly’s trial in February.
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Since then, Smith said he has reached out to other counties to repair working relationships.
“He’s done a great job getting everyone on the same page,” Bryan Cooper, captain of operations for the Athens County Sheriff’s Office, said.
The three counties are connected by U.S. Route 33, which Smith and other law enforcement officials said is a highway for transporting meth and heroin.
“Columbus is a major distribution center (for drugs), and the route they take is the obvious one — down 33,” Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen said. “Focusing on it helps us to better intercept drugs as they come in.”
Phalen, who helped found the Major Crimes Unit in 2001, has now worked with Smith for more than a year and said he was impressed with Smith right away.
“One of the first things he did was call me," Phalen said. "We had lunch and we just really brainstormed about ways we could improve the working relationship. He has the experience and work ethic to make things work.”
Joining the Major Crimes Unit was the cornerstone of his efforts to overhaul the county’s drug-fighting tactics, Smith said.
Along with the collaboration with other counties, Smith pushed a number of other policies forward to assist with the fight against drug overdoses.
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Deputies will soon carry Naloxone, a medication that will allow them to revive opiate users who have overdosed.
Smith said he also expanded efforts to use confidential informants, giving drug users more incentive to provide information about their suppliers.
“If people want to sell drugs in Athens County, eventually we’re going to meet,” Smith said. “We’re never done. We’re never finished. But I truly believe we’ve disrupted the supply lines in Athens County.”
Even though Smith said he is trying to strengthen relationships between counties, so far the numbers of overdoses have been the same.
Smith's efforts are looking beyond year-to-year to help bring down drug use over the long term. To that end, he said he is working with area schools to teach children the dangers of drug use.
“We want to cut off the supply and the demand," Smith said. "We’re going to start with the school-age children and we’re going to educate them about the consequences."
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