Toledo police and Mercy hospital officials on Thursday announced a joint law enforcement unit that aims to reduce crime in the area.
An officer from both the city and hospital police departments are patrolling neighborhoods around Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center.
Much of the beat focuses on Lagrange Street to Collingwood Boulevard, including Mercy College of Ohio.
During a news conference at the hospital, Toledo police Chief George Kral said he’s confident this team will reach out to citizens.
“The residents of this part of town now know that they have two officers that are going to be in their neighborhood. This is community policing at its best,” Chief Kral said.
Residents in the area will learn to contact these officers with their concerns, the chief said. He expects the area will record a reduction in crime a year from now.
Toledo police have recorded about 20 reported assaults and a dozen burglaries in the past month within a half-mile radius of the hospital, according to the department’s online crime map.
This partnership is a natural extension of the departments’ ongoing cooperation, said Peter D’Amore, chief of Mercy police.
“The entire district will be well in hand,” he said of the officers involved.
Officers Adam Eilerts of Toledo police and Eric Draper of Mercy police have been part of the joint unit for about a week. They will patrol the area in a vehicle marked with the symbols of both agencies.
Their goal is to do proactive, community policing in an area where officers stay busy from call to call, Officer Eilerts said.
The two officers spent the first week meeting residents and listening to their concerns. A main problem is the recurrence of crime and too few police officers available to reduce it, Officer Eilerts said.
Officer Draper said he too hopes their joint efforts can slow the area’s crime rate, as well as maintaining safety for hospital patients and visitors.
“We want to really get the community to trust us,” Officer Draper said.
Contact Ryan Dunn at: rdunn@theblade.com, 419-724-6095, or on Twitter @rdunnblade.
First Published January 8, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
