As the heroin problem continues to grow, so do the crimes associated with it.
In Mentor, when police saw a spike in thefts of everything from high ticket items, to crab legs and baby formula, they acted quickly to deter them.
Mentor Police developed a special program called the "Retail Theft Crime Deterrence Program" through a grant for an undercover operation. The grant is funded by the state and is meant to target the heroin problem and the crimes associated with it.
While police won't say exactly what the program does, they've told News 5 it involves undercover officers.
Mentor PD reported Wednesday they made 76 arrests in 2017 and recovered more than $11,000 in stolen goods.
So News 5 checked in with other departments dealing with the some of the same problems - Westlake, Rocky River, Akron, North Olmsted, Beachwood, and Canal Fulton.
Canal Fulton police chief Doug Swartz told News 5 in an email that while they're much smaller and less commercial than a city like Mentor, they've still seen a "a direct correlation between the heroin epidemic and theft issues."
In Fairview Park, police have tackled some issues with theft and fraudulent returns related to the heroin problem at Westgate shopping center.
"We do a lot more with the less that we have," Lt. Paul Shepard said.
Lieutenant Shepard explained that because a city like Fairview Park is smaller than a city like Mentor - which is currently the 6th largest retail center in the state - the same theft deterrence program may not work for them.
"Kudos to mentor for doing that. And I think every agency would love to have the manpower and the resources to do that, but realistically a lot of cities don't have the manpower to cover that," he told News 5.
Cities of all sizes are still taking measures to cut down on the problem, and it's working.
"We do proactive patrols, we are always in those areas," Lieutenant Shepard told News 5.
"Would it help if that grant was available to departments of different sizes?" News 5 asked Lt. Shepard.
"Of course! Anything we can do to make the city safer, the area safer, we'd be receptive to it," he said.
