Monthly Village Newsletter
June 2008
Nick Garver, Chief of Police
June 2008
Greetings:
The Mayor has asked me to write a little about the administrative accomplishments for the department so far this year. One of the first things that were addressed was personnel issues. Many laws have changed very recently that requires certain trainings be taken by all police personnel, including auxiliary or reserve officers. If one officer would fail to do the trainings it keeps the entire department from being able to obtain training money, grants, and can even be cause to shut the department down. We had some officers that were either unaware or unwilling to comply with these new laws, and therefore many officers were removed from the department after being given opportunities to comply.
I have attended numerous conferences and meetings with the Ohio Association of Chief’s of Police and local law enforcement officials, developing rapports and networking with other agencies and support groups.
I, along with other Perry County Police Chiefs decided to start meeting once a month in New Lexington to discuss crime patterns, new ways of doing things, and deciding how we can better help our agencies and each other. A major topic is the implementation of a mutual-aid agreement which benefits all parties involved by legally allowing other agencies to respond to our emergencies to increase officer safety, police response time, and to make more resources available. This concept has been in effect for years in surrounding counties and is strongly recommended by the village solicitor. The issue is before the village council for a vote this month.
The department has become involved in state and federal initiatives such as the recent “Click It or Ticket” campaign, and later this summer there will be a strict OVI (formerly DUI) campaign. Involvement in these programs allows the department to be eligible for monies to procure equipment or to have enforcement equipment donated to the department from state and federal entities.
The budget issues have been addressed, and so far it looks as if we may be able to operate within our budget which is easily $15,000 less than in previous years. The department is taking measures to conserve fuel while still being proactive and is currently approximately $1,300 below budget for the first half of the year. The department has applied for all the grants that are currently known to be available. Unfortunately the median household income of the village is higher than what is required to get rural/small department assistance monies. The department has qualified to receive 50% of the cost of a bullet proof vest back that was purchased last year for Captain Shankle, who is by far our most active auxiliary officer, and has already put in well over the required hours for a full year. The department has also solicited larger area businesses for donations.
The auxiliary officers have entered into contracts to provide 16 hours of service per month for free to the village. On average the village has benefited from enough free hours to equal an additional full-time officer.
The police department had a fundraiser at Firehouse Pizza which earned the department almost $500 from donations from citizens, village employees, and of course Firehouse Pizza. The department will be hosting a “Kids & Cops” day which is intended to be a family event. It will be held June 21, 2008 from 11am to 3pm at the Elementary. A large part of event will be a police car competition, and we hope to have specialized police units on display such as K-9s, SWAT vehicles, and things of this nature. Members of the police department and other volunteers will be on hand operating a fundraiser, selling food & pop during the event and accepting donations.
Please remember it is summertime and school is out. Children will be playing outdoors and extra care should be given when driving in the residential areas. The police department has received several complaints of stop sign and speed violators in the residential areas. Don’t be surprised to see the police car in these areas watching traffic. If you have a similar problem on your street, report it. If you would like police to use your driveway to better enforce these problems, call, email, or visit the website to give your name and address.
Some citizens have questioned why the cruiser has been seen out of town; this is for police business such as transporting prisoners, going to meetings, filing charges, testifying in court, buying supplies, maintaining the cruisers, assisting other agencies and other reasons.