Kane, DuPage Sheriff's Offices Team Up To Target Opioid Suppliers

KANE COUNTY, IL — The Kane County Sheriff's Office and DuPage County Sheriff's Office plan to team up in an effort to combat opioid and fentanyl use in area communities.

DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick and Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain signed an agreement Thursday, which will consolidate the efforts of the agencies' street-level tactical teams, according to a news release.

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Both agencies have been hampered, in the past, by staffing issues, which has made it harder to track down the sources of the illegal narcotics, according to a news release.

“Working together in these ways makes a statement. We owe it to our communities, especially those members who are the victims of addiction, to go after the people that bring this poison into our area,” Mendrick said. “Unfortunately, the dealers don’t care about jurisdictional boundaries. This is a step towards making sure that those same boundaries don’t affect our abilities to take it off the street.”

Police are focused on target dealers who are aimed at destroying communities.

“We will continue to make our rehabilitation efforts first and foremost when we encounter people
addicted to these narcotics,” Hain said. “But to the people bringing it into the area, we won’t show any compassion. They simply bring it in to make a profit and don’t care about the devastation it leaves behind.”

Both DuPage and Kane County have extensive and successful rehabilitation programs, both inside and out of their correctional institutions, according to authorities. Mendrick and Hain agree that working with people suffering from addiction is important but say that doesn’t take away their responsibility to go after those providing it.

“The decision was easy,” Mendrick said. “We already collaborate our efforts to combat on-line child pornography and online exploitation of children with great effect. This is just an extension of the shared resources that have already proven successful.”