Police Chief Allison Elliott and Clark County Sheriff Chris Clark told the Springfield City Commission on July 29 that a coordinated, data-driven approach is central to reducing gun violence, particularly among youth, and said upgrades to 9-1-1 technology and jail capacity are urgent needs.

Elliott and Clark spoke during a joint work session attended by the mayor and city commissioners. The chiefs said sharing intelligence, pooled operational planning and new analytic tools have allowed them to identify threats earlier and run multiagency operations that led to multiple arrests and firearm seizures during a single enforcement night in July.

The officials framed the collaboration as a blend of enforcement and prevention. "We have 2 analysts currently in our program who do incredible work every day," Chief Elliott said, explaining analysts monitor patterns and social media to give officers a "heads up" on emerging threats. Sheriff Clark described the agencies as sharing people and resources: "We're dealing with the same groups of of people whether or not they're coming in and out of the jail," he said.

Why it matters: Elliott and Clark told commissioners the community faces increased firearm access among young people and that new technology — real-time crime centers, drones, camera networks and an upgraded 9-1-1 system — helps officers intervene sooner and improves solvability. Both leaders said those tools are costly and require sustained investment.

Key enforcement results and technology uses: Sheriff Clark gave the commission a summary of a July operation that involved Springfield Police Division, the Clark County Sheriff's Office, Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Dayton DEA task force and other agencies. He reported that in one night the group conducted 35 traffic stops, issued 22 citations, made five felony arrests, three misdemeanor arrests, and seized three firearms (one from a juvenile), roughly 11 prescription pills and about four grams of suspected cocaine. Chief Elliott and Clark also described use of Flock camera footage and drones to identify suspects and preserve scenes.

Jail capacity and programming: Clark urged the commission to support planning for a new public-safety facility, saying the county's current jail is over capacity and limits prosecutors' and judges' options. "Right now, we have a, a 180 bed jail. It's rated to house a 167. Our average daily population today was a 192," Clark said. He told commissioners the county's recidivism rate is about 34.5 percent and argued additional space could allow expanded programming — GED classes, substance-abuse treatment and counseling — aimed at reducing reoffending.

9-1-1 modernization: Clark and Elliott both described long-running efforts to move the county and city off an older Citrix system onto a VPN-based 9-1-1 platform that would support mapping, telemetry and file transfers. Clark said an RFP is due Aug. 8 and that he expects a short onboarding timeline for agencies, adding, "The VPN system works, phenomenally well." He said the sheriff's office and Springfield PD are aiming to be fully onboarded quickly to enable real-time data sharing.

Community engagement and prevention: The chiefs highlighted non-enforcement initiatives — Safety Village, D.A.R.E., the Explorer program and a Citizens Police Academy — as part of prevention. Chief Elliott said the Safety Village program marked its 50th anniversary and that the department will expand prevention programming.

What was not decided: The presentation was informational; the work session produced no formal policy votes on funding or construction of a new jail. Commissioners asked follow-up questions and flagged future joint meetings to discuss the proposed new facility and 9-1-1 upgrades.

Ending: Commissioners thanked the agencies for the presentation and agreed to continue the conversation at a joint meeting about the proposed jail and the 9-1-1 upgrade timeline. The departments posted operation results and other materials referenced in their remarks on the city's website.