BUCYRUS — Many Crawford County residents elected Crawford Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold has made a name for himself when it comes to strict-sentences and a no-nonsense approach to criminal behavior in Crawford County.
That reputation appears to be influencing the amount of drug-related crime taking place in Crawford County.
New statistics provided by local law enforcement show a decrease county-wide in criminal activity. The statistics cover 2014-17. Sean Leuthold took the bench in 2015.
“Drug related crimes in Crawford County have greatly decreased over the last three years, especially burglaries and robberies which are very serious felonies and put innocent people in danger,” Sean Leuthold said. “Obviously, I’m very pleased the crime has decreased.
“This is especially true because burglaries, break-ins, robberies and thefts affect innocent people. While I am certainly concerned with people using drugs, I am more concerned with protecting innocent people from crimes that are committed by drug users. Our county certainly owes a debt of gratitude to the hard working men and women in law enforcement. Clearly Crawford County is headed in the right direction.”
In Galion, results were compiled by Police Chief Satterfield and showed a drop of 50 percent in drug-related crime. Burglaries decreased by 58 percent, break-ins decreased by 57 percent, thefts by 48 percent and robberies by 100 percent.
In Crestline, according to information from Police Chief Joseph Butler, burglaries decreased by 53 percent, break-ins decreased by 53 percent, thefts decreased by 60 percent and there was no change in the status of robberies, with just one occurring, making the total drop in drug-related crime for the village of Crestline 58 percent.
In Bucyrus, Bucyrus Police Chief David Koepke reported total burglaries in Bucyrus decreased by 53 percent, break-ins by 43 percent, thefts decreased by 34 percent and robberies decreased by 60 percent, for a total reduction in drug elated crime to 38 percent.
Crawford County Sheriff Scott Kent compiled results for the county. His stats show that burglaries and break-ins decreased by 63 percent since 2014, thefts decreased by 50 percent, and no drug-related robberies occurred in either 2014 or 2017. Drug-related across the county has dropped 53 percent.
Municipal Court Judge Shane Leuthold agrees.
“Clearly, over the last three years, people are getting the message that Crawford County is not the place to commit drug-related crime,” Leuthold said. “Criminal behavior is being successfully investigated, prosecuted and most importantly punished in the appropriate manner. Simply put, criminals are now being held accountable and the crime rate indicates that.”
