With so many businesses closed, fewer people could steal.
The same proved true with the number of major traffic accidents that took place in Ohio County, and with the number of DUI offenses, according to Sheriff Tom Howard.
But those decreases only made more time for the sheriff’s 35 deputies to respond, however, to more emergency cases connected to the ongoing drug crisis.
“We did not see any decreases involving drug use, the pace of overdoses, or with drug trafficking activity since the pandemic began,” Howard reported. “What we did see, though, was an uptick in all three. That just goes to show that not everyone followed the rules when it came to the restrictions that were put in place by Gov. Justice.
“That’s because the people who are trafficking drugs don’t follow the rules in the first place, so no one should have expected them to follow the rules during a pandemic,” he said. “When it all began, I figured the problems with the drugs in this area now would get worse because everybody was at home and
because there were not many places open. We also expected an increase in domestic reports, but those calls stayed the same.”
ODs and Death
The Wheeling-Ohio County Emergency Management Agency created a mass texting system nearly two years ago, and since June 2020 the EMA has distributed 19 warnings about multiple overdoses. The messages also state, “At-risk Individuals: Be able to access your Narcan or Naloxone. Report overdoses to 911.”
More often than not, when those warnings were distributed, they have been caused by dealers lacing not only heroin but also cocaine and methamphetamine.
“There actually were more overdoses our deputies responded to during this pandemic than before it,” Howard said. “And the members of the Ohio Valley Drug Task Force have been quite busy, too. Remember; law enforcement didn’t shut down like so many other things did, so our deputies continued responding to the calls we received. Unfortunately, more than before pertained to drugs, and we lost people, too. Not just to Covid, but to overdoses.
“And right now, we have heroin, fentanyl, and a lot of methamphetamines, and we get the same amount of calls for meth as we do the other two. We watched meth come at us from the south, so it was only a matter of time until we saw the issues they were seeing in Wetzel county five years ago,” he explained. “People have to remember that law enforcement always is out there, but we really don’t expect these drugs or the overdose deaths to go away anytime soon.”
Sticky Fingers
According to the incident reports distributed each morning by the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office, at least 10 shoplifting calls were received by the 911 dispatchers per week.
“Of course, that depends on the time of year,” Howard said. “It was pretty steady all year long, but when the holidays come around, it usually picks up.
“But what we did see was a decrease in the number of shoplifting offenses in Ohio County, but that was also because most businesses were closed,” the sheriff explained. “And we did see an increase in mental hygiene issues and the number of transports to mental health facilities, and that’s because those folks were not able to get the help they needed and had very limited contact with other individuals they could talk to.”
But with only a few retail outlets open for business at The Highlands and around the county, fewer shoplifting reports were investigated, but that also meant a shift took place in criminal activity.
“Along with all of the stores that were closed, so were the pawnshops, and people started to see that the catalytic converters were being taken from under their vehicles,” Howard said. “And if someone knows what they are doing, it could only take a minute for the thief to detach it and sell it for scrap because of the platinum those contain.
“As far as the drugs, though, what people have to remember is that addiction is addiction, and unless someone wants to quit and go through that process, addicts are going to find their next supply. Addiction doesn’t stop until a person makes it,” he said. “There’s just so much that goes along with addiction and, of course, it affects the person but also their families.”
