OPD Annual Report 2023

City of Oxford Division Of Police

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 3

Mission & Values

Our Mission

The Division of Police shall endeavor to promote a personalized, proactive partnership between the Police and the Oxford community to reduce fear and incidence of crime, and to solve contemporary problems with the goal of improving the quality of life for all.

Our Values

As members of the Oxford Police Division, we value: Integrity & Honesty

Dignity & Respect of all human beings

Loyalty & Dedication to our community, our department, and our profession

Constitutional Rights & well-being of all persons

Uncompromising commitment to our oath of office

The Ideas and Opinions of our citizens, recognizing that their partnership is essential to the accomplishment of our mission

Our Vision

Based on earned trust and confidence, coupled with the highest standards of professionalism and accountability, we envision a police division that totally embraces its values and is committed to working in partnership with our citizens to continually improve the quality of life in Oxford.

Message From The Chief

On behalf of the men and women of the City of Oxford Division of Police, I thank you for your interest in our annual report. We are a full-service agency that is an integral part of developing and maintaining a safe and secure community through the collaborative efforts of many departments and community organizations.

Our Division proudly provides a wide range of police services and programs to residents, visitors, and members of the business community. We are staffed 24/7 by thirty sworn officers who are professionally trained and certified by the State of Ohio, as well as civilian staff who provide support to the Division’s operations. The Division is divided into two sections: operations and support, each supervised by a lieutenant who reports directly to the chief.

Our mission and values are a reflection of our commitment to a welcoming community and guide our agency’s pursuit of professional excellence. We are a proud organization in a noble profession and our members consistently demonstrate a commitment to providing professional and ethical service to the people of the City of Oxford.

This report is meant to provide a snapshot view of our agency. We encourage you to contact us if you would like to participate in any of our programs or if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

John A Jones Chief of Police

Our City

With a total population of nearly 23,000, the city of Oxford is a vibrant college town that is home to Miami University. Throughout the years, Oxford has frequently been named one of America‘s Best College Towns.

The village of Oxford was planned out in 1810 and then incorporated in 1830. The village adopted a charter form of government in the 1960's. Population growth transformed the status of the village into a city in 1971. The city lies in the northwest corner of Butler County, just 5 miles from the Indiana state line, and is now nearly 8 square miles.

Our Police Department

Our History

Oxford’s first town marshal position was created before the police department was in existence. In 1942, Harry Spencer was appointed as Oxford’s first Chief of Police. The city Charter, adopted in the 1960's, defines the police force as the Police Division in the Department of Safety.

The Police Division now employs 30 sworn police officers and 17 nonsworn staff.

The Police Division has always occupied a portion of the municipal building at 101 E. High St. in uptown Oxford since it was built in 1939. Both police and fire Divisions were housed in the city building but the Fire Division left in 1984, after securing their own building. The Police Division has been growing over the years and needed more space. After the Fire Division left, the police took over the basement and the south end of the building. In 2019, the city offices relocated and the building was completely remodeled. The Police Division now occupies the entire building.

ChiefOfPolice JohnJones

Data- Crime Data

Data- Crimes Reported

Crash Data

This data chart was generated by the Ohio Department of Public Safety based on traffic crash reports submitted by OPD. This is only data for crashes reported on public streets. Failure to yield is the top causative factor in Oxford crashes.

Most crashes occurred on Wednesdays.

Most crashes occurred between 5-6 PM, followed by the 4-5 PM hour. This is a change from 2022 when the lunchtime hour of 12-1 PM was tied for the most incidents of crashes.

2023 TRAFFIC CRASH TOTAL: 329

Public streets: 222

Private property: 107

Data - Stops Explanation

Traffic/Pedestrian Stop and Traffic Crash Data

It is the Policy of the Division of Police to treat all human beings with dignity and respect. As part of the unconditional respect shown to all persons, the Division has established procedures to evaluate discretionary enforcement trends. Division members will capture specific data sets that will not only enhance public transparency in the Division’s activities, but provide quantitative information to the Police Community Relations and Review Commission.

The Division of Police tracks demographic information of those who are stopped, cited, and who are involved in traffic crashes. Data is to be collected for all traffic stops, traffic crashes, and pedestrian stops using a data collection form

For traffic stops, officers complete the form with information about the driver for the stopped vehicle. For traffic crash investigations, the form is completed with information on all drivers involved in the crash. Officers also complete a form for all people involved in a pedestrian stop.

This information is reviewed throughout the year by Police Sergeants for indications of racial profiling. The Chief of Police presents the annual report to the Police Community Relations and Review Commission.

Pedestrian Stops

ETHNICITY PEDESTRIAN STOP DATA

Crashes & Demographics

TRAFFIC STOP DATA VS TRAFFIC CRASH DATA

TRAFFIC CRASH BENCHMARK DATA

Patrol

Description

Patrol is the heart of our Division. They are professional problem solvers and master communicators. They help people in trouble and protect our community with passion and with compassion. Their duties range from investigating traffic crashes and criminal complaints to the enforcement and arrests of minor misdemeanors up to high tier felonies.

Patrol cruiser and the victory bell

Officer Derrick Carlson

Sergeant Dave King

Officer Matthew Wagers

Officr Mark Ledermeier

K-9 Operations

Description

Officer Matt Hardin and his K-9 partner, Roscoe, have worked together for nearly 7 years. They certify annually through Ohio police Officer Training Academy (OPOTA) and through North American Police Work Dog Association (NAPWDA) in the areas of narcotic detection, K-9 patrol operations as well as human tracking. Officer Hardin and Roscoe provide K-9 support for the City of Oxford but are often called upon to respond in other local jurisdictions requesting K-9 support. Recently, they have begun training and working with the Butler County Regional Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team and have been deployed i i l d i id

Investigations

Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU)

Description

CIU is responsible for follow-up investigations on felony, misdemeanor, and juvenile crimes as well as missing persons cases. The Criminal Investigations Unit is staffed by a detective sergeant and two detectives. Detectives are assigned cases to further investigate and typically are working 12-17 different cases at a time.

In addition to traditional investigations, CIU is also involved in other areas such as compliance checks involving tobacco and alcohol sales, working as liaisons with other agencies, and working with the Prosecutor’s office.

We investigated/followed up on 361 cases in 2023.

Investigations

Flock Cameras:

Several Walmart theft investigations pointed to suspects who had committed other thefts at several Ohio/Indiana Walmart stores over the previous month. Flock Camera systems assisted in tracking the suspect vehicle’s whereabouts and identifying the owner. The investigation took multiple agencies coming together to locate the suspect(s). A search warrant in Connersville, IN netted multiple pieces of stolen property, and an arrest was made for Felony Theft. The cameras provided the evidence and information we needed and were invaluable.

Flock cameras are a network of license plate readers that capture and record license plate information. These cameras are designed to identify license plates associated with crimes, including wanted suspects and stolen license plates/vehicles. While Oxford did not have any of our own Flock cameras in 2023, our MOU agreement with Flock allowed us to search the Flock system for suspect vehicles outside of our jurisdiction. Oxford has a capital project to install Flock cameras around the City of Oxford in 2024.

A vehicular assault resulting in serious injuries to a bicyclist occurred with the only evidence of the striking vehicle being a front bumper located miles from the scene. Among other law enforcement tools and building security cameras, detectives tapped into the Flock Camera systems and discovered the suspect vehicle was in Trenton, Ohio. A search warrant was conducted and the striking vehicle was located hidden in a garage. The suspect was later charged with Vehicular Assault.

We worked in conjunction with the following agencies:

Connersville Police Department (IN)

Fayette County SO (IN)

Greenville Police Department (OH)

Richmond Police Department (IN)

Eaton Police Department (OH)

Preble County SO (Ohio)

Hamilton Police Department

Trenton Police Department

Butler County SO NYPD

Chickasaw County SO (Iowa)

Illinois Statewide Auto Theft Task Force

Investigations Notable Cases

Social Media Helps Out:

A female was a porch pirate and stole a package from a Hester Road front porch. The victim had photos of the female and the vehicle that drove her away. Social media helped connect the female to the name of a male and information on the vehicle. A search warrant was conducted on the female’s phone and photos were found of the stolen shoes before the suspect sold them online. We were able to arrest both the female and the male and close out several cases as a result.

Camera technology helps solve the following cases:

Home renovation turns into theft: A resident reported missing checks and suspected a construction employee of taking them, as he was having remodeling work done at his house. OPD Ring cameras were used to capture the employee snooping around the victim’s bedroom. It was discovered that the employee attempted to use the stolen check to deposit money in his bank account. After a search warrant was executed at the employee’s house, we found items linking him to the crime.

A female reported that she was robbed after leaving her job, BW3, one night. She had an elaborate story about the male following her to her vehicle and a specific location where the robbery took place. After reviewing the camera footage, it was found that the whole claim was fabricated.

DNA match:

Near the scene of a burglary, a suspicious male was stopped and identified. A tool used in the burglary was left behind inside the residence and was sent to the state crime lab where they identified the DNA as that of the suspicious male that had been stopped. A separate, unrelated, search warrant led to recovery of stolen property from the burglary and further tied the suspect to the burglary. The suspect has a trial date in early 2024.

School Resource Officers

Officer

Shelly Sikora

Pete Durkin

Bob Reihs

Location # of enrolled students

Kramer ES

Talawanda MS

Talawanda HS 600 students

677 students 874 students

School Resource Officers (SROs) fill a vital role in our schools and with our youth, and both the OPD and the Talawanda School District (TSD) are committed to staffing their schools with a police officer. SROs strive to foster positive relationships with the students while providing important safety and security to their respective schools Their mission also includes a combination of police work, mentoring, and education

In 2023, the OPD continued to staff all three of our schools in the Talawanda School District. Due to budget cuts, there was a significant change at Kramer Elementary when TSD decreased the hours of the SRO from 40 hours to 24 hours. Officer Jake Hayes, who had been Kramer’s SRO for several years, also left the department for another job, so veteran Detective Shelly Sikora accepted the opportunity to fill that role. She works 24 hours at Kramer and fills the rest of her work week in her detective position.

KramerElementarySchool

TalawandaMiddleSchool

TalawandaHighSchool

Social Service Liaison

After being hired in 2022, Ashlea has been busy familiarizing herself with OPD operations, the City of Oxford and its residents. In order to get to know as many people as she can and spread the word about her role, she has met with several different groups/organizations in the community including Lions Club, Oxford Fire Department, Oxford Rotary, PCRRC, and City Council. Ashlea has joined community groups such as the Mental Health Workgroup and Needs Awareness Committee. Over the course of the year she has networked with several agencies in Butler County to serve the community of Oxford. These agencies include The Family Resource Center, Butler County Behavioral Health, Senior Center, Hope Line, Serve City, Beckett Springs and many other agencies. It is estimated that Ashlea has provided service referrals for over 100 members of the community. She also applied and received a Grant from the McCullough-Hyde Foundation to assist with emergency funding for her program. Ashlea is continuing to grow and network in the community and integrated herself in with the Oxford Police Department.

Social Service

A story on the impact of the Social Services Liaison (SSL)

Our SSL, Ashlea, has been working with an individual for over two years who is mentally ill and has substance abuse issues. During this time she has provided referrals for therapy and medication maintenance. Ashlea learned he fell victim to several money scams and, along with the help of partnering agencies, was able to assist him financially on two occasions. He was still unable to sustain paying his rent and decided to vacate his home rather than be evicted. After leaving his apartment, it was learned he was staying in the woods. With frigid temperatures on the way, arrangements needed to be made to get him to warm shelter. After some resistance, he finally agreed to be taken to a homeless shelter where it was decided that he was an appropriate fit for their 90 day residential shelter program--which requires mental health stability, substance abuse stability, consistent income, and participation in case management services. He agreed to participate and quickly started the program. He began working with case managements services and has remained mentally stable. Since starting the residential program, he has moved to the second step of the program--transitional housing. With the assistance of his case manager he will be seeking permanent housing. This individual checks in regularly with Ashlea to provide updates on his well-being.

Drone

Description

The Division’s Drone Unit is comprised of multiple UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems). Our pilots are certified by the FAA to fly in unrestricted airspace (or restricted airspace with proper permissions) to support public safety needs. In addition to the FAA certification process, OPD’s pilots are trained to the National Fire Protection standard for Small Unmanned Aircraft (NFPA 2400). As a small unit we routinely partner with other drone teams such as Hamilton County UAS500, West Chester Police, Trenton Police, and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office for large scale missions.

drone catches suspects hidden in the field

drone image of fleeing suspect

Description SWAT

The Division is a member of the Butler County Regional SWAT Team (Special Weapons and Tactics Team). We currently have 6 members on the tactical unit and 2 members on the negotiator unit. This contingency includes 3 members that are part of the team leadership cadre. The team averages 1-2 callouts per year, mainly assisting agencies countywide with barricaded subjects and high risk search warrants. The Butler County Regional SWAT Team trains twice a month and often uses locations in Oxford for this training.

Community Outreach

The Oxford Division of Police proactively engages with the public in an effort to build relationships, promote trust, engage in problem-solving, and encourage an open exchange of ideas and thoughts. With open communication, we strive to understand the needs and concerns of our community. Our goal is to keep our city free from crime, the fear of crime, and to maintain a high quality life for our citizens, businesses, and visitors.

A few of the events held over the course of 2023 include: Coffee with a Cop, Safety Talks, Youth Fishing Derby, and a Community picnic

Community Outreach

For more than 25 years, the OPD has hosted an annual Citizens Police Academy (CPA). This is a 10 week course which covers a wide variety of topics highlighting the different facets and functions of our police department and our criminal justice partners.

Recruitment Efforts

Description

The OPD had one to two police officer positions open throughout the year in 2023. Our written testing protocol was changed to encourage participation by a larger candidate pool. We are now using the National Testing Network’s written exam, which is the first step in our testing process. We also have expanded our candidate pool by including a lateral transfer option. OPD recruiters attended many career fairs and made visits to local police academies that were in session. We also hosted our first recruitment open house early in the year. We have hired one applicant who was sent to the police academy and who obtained his Ohio Peace Officer certification in December.

Officer Matt Wagers at Northern k i f i

Officer David Mor Fening at the Univ. of Lt. Lara Fening at the Miami UniversityRegionals career fair

Career Fair and Academy Visits

Recruitment Open House:

Tuesday, April 4

Saturday, April 8

Career Fairs Attended

Miami University-Oxford 2/27

Spring Career and Internship Fair

Miami University-Oxford 3/1

Education, Government, Human Services

Mount Saint Joseph University 3/1

Miami University – Hamilton 3/2

University of Cincinnati – Criminal Justice 3/8

University of Cincinnati – Clermont College 3/9

Miami University-Oxford 3/15

University of Dayton 9/18

Miami University-Oxford 9/27

Fall Career and Internship Fair

Miami University- Hamilton 10/11

Northern Kentucky University 11/02

Criminal Justice/Government Career Fair

Police Academy Visits

Butler Tech Day Academy 3/10 and 10/6

Great Oaks 3/17

UC Clermont 3/22 and 10/5

Butler Tech Night Academy 3/28

Dispatcher/Clerks

Description

Dispatcher/Clerk Larren Lipps

Our Personnel

Dispatchers/Clerks have a wide range of responsibilities. They are responsible for processing citation payments, meter rentals, and solicitor permits. They also sell permits for the leased spaces in the parking garage and residential areas. They input traffic and criminal citation information into the Records Management System (RMS) database, prepare and send criminal reports for the Prosecutor’s office, help to process court expungements and report document filing, RMS database validations, and perform background checks. Additionally, they help answer and route inquiries and phone calls to different departments, as needed. They enter arrest warrants, dispatch radio calls to PSA officers, assist police officers with Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS) information, assist where needed with calls for service, send emergency Nixle messages, and help to process vacant house check entries.

The Dispatcher/Clerk position consists of 6 full-time employees and 2 part-time employees.

Full-Time:

Intisar Anderson

Larren Lipps

Robb Kingsley

Chris Warren

Ashley Conrad

Maria Garnett

Part-Time: Joanne Handley

Samantha Wardlow (resigned in 2023)

Breana Maupin (hired in 2023)

Dispatcher/Clerk Robb Kingsley

Description

Records Specialist, Matthew Stitzel, manages all police records and public records requests for the police division. He is responsible for properly categorizing and maintaining division records, adhering to the redaction and release mandates according to Ohio public records laws, and destroying records per the Ohio Historical Society’s protocol. Additionally, the Records Specialist is asked to regularly release reports and records for the public, the Butler County prosecutor, insurance companies, background check requests, and Miami University. He also manages, redacts, and releases the police officer body worn camera footage.

Public Safety Assistants

A new metered area was established by Oxford City Council under the recommendation of the Oxford Parking and Transportation Board. This area surrounds the Oxford Community Arts Center. New meters were installed in the 200 block W. High St./0 block S. Elm St./200 block W. Walnut St.

The primary duties of our Public Safety Assistants (PSA) are parking control and enforcement. They also perform most all the maintenance on our parking equipment. Meters and enforcement equipment are becoming more technologically complex every year and our PSAs are keeping up with those advancements. Pay stations, credit card-equipped meters, and parking payment apps are the standards now in paying for parking. Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) are an industry standard as an efficient enforcement tool. This year, a second parking vehicle was equipped with an ALPR. PSAs perform other countless functions for the police department, e.g. fleet management assistance, vehicle battery jumps, courier for court paperwork, etc.

PSA Angela Schatzle uses bike patrol to assist with parking control, enforcement, and public assistance for the Epic Soccer Tournament, which brings hundreds of cars to Oxford.

Peyton Torres-Cruz is enforcing parking regulations uptown.

Full time PSA’s

Public Safety Assistants

Another responsibility of our full-time Public Safety Assistants is animal control. They investigate animal welfare calls, neglect situations, deceased or injured wildlife, animal bites, and lost and recovered dogs. They have specific professional training to deal with such situations. They are trained to deal with domestic animals and also receive regular instruction on handling a wide variety of wildlife scenarios.

Angela Schatzle working in an animal control capacity.

Salary and Wages

Uniform Allowance

Collection

Agency Services Training and Travel

Health Insurance & other Personnel

Benefits

Telephone/ Device Costs Refunds Operating Supplies Fuel

Parking Garage Maintenance Expenses

Banking Fees for Meter/Coin Deposits

Vehicle Maintenance

Total expenditures for parking operations- $663,829.92

Pension Benefits, Workers Comp, Life Insurance, etc.

Printing and Reproduction Costs Postage

Small Tools and Equipment

Contracted Services

Software Provider

Annual Fees

Liability

Insurance Expenses

Citation Revenuetickets issued- 19,790

base amount- $287,345.00 total amount- $436,574.70 in revenue

*The Base Amounts are the initial cost of the citations--if paid on time.

*Total Amount reflects what the total is after the cost has escalated when the citation is not paid on time. 34

January

Boots Number of Boots

August

September

October

November

December

Total revenue from all 167 boots was $43,755.70

Property

Description

The Property Technician, Perry Gordon, is responsible for managing all property and evidence that are submitted by our police personnel. There are several categories of property that OPD takes in evidence found property, and property kept for safekeeping. Property is stored in a secured area, including a vault for firearms, narcotics, and money.

The Property Technician is also responsible for maintaining a chain of custody for all items that come through OPD. He assists in transferring evidence needed for laboratory processing to one of the three crime labs we have available to us (Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab, and Hamilton County Coroner and Crime Laboratory).

In a typical year, over 1,900 items are taken in (including fake IDs, illegal weaponry, drug paraphernalia, etc.).

The Property Technician maintains a long-term storage area at the impound building, which is used as a staging area for eventual property disposal and for items that require extended storage.

2023 Illegal Drugs Destruction: After cases are adjudicated or drugs are simply found, they are destined for destruction. Boxes of confiscated drugs are taken to a confidential site where they are crushed by a large auger and then soaked in a combination of chemicals and waste materials,which ruin the drugs for consumption. The pulverized and soaked drugs are then incinerated. Heroin, fentanyl, meth, cocaine, marijuana and other substances were destroyed in this process, which occurs every 1 ½ years or so.

Property

Activity

Property Intake (includes lost & found items included as of 8/25/23): 1938 compared to 2014 in 2022

Property Disposal: 1912 items disposed (master disposal list ran from 11/30/22 to 01/10/2024, so it's actually a 13.5 month period)

Contraband Drug Disposal at Environmental Enterprises (Cincinnati): approximately 110 pounds--including heroin, fentanyl, marijuana, methamphetamine, etc.). The April 2022 disposal included approximate 240 pounds (this covered 2+ years). 2023 Firearms Disposal (includes court-ordered forfeitures, owners ' disposal requests, found and unclaimed weapons): 28 firearms destroye by Gun Busters; 15 firearms traded to Kiesler Police Supply for ammunit exchange.

Unclaimed clothing/textile donations to Thread-Up Oxford (keeping th out of the landfills): 174.4 pounds (gross weight) in 2023, 88 pounds in 2022.

Evidence runs to crime labs: 62 in 2023; 71 in 2022.

Sharps containers disposed at McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital: 47 containers in 2023 (includes drop-offs at OPD lobby, sharps collected at fall/spring drug take-backs, and needles confiscated as evidence in crim cases)

Unclaimed cell phones donated to Cell Phone Bank (CPB ): 59 in 2023 (we received 10 phones (requested by Social Services Liaison Ashlea Weddle for use in Oxford community). Prior to working with CPB, we donated 32 phones to Smart Phone Recycling in 2022, for which SPR donated financial support to a women ' s shelter in Columbus.

National Take Back Initiative drug collections: OPD turned in 490 pounds of prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals to the DEA collection in 2023; our 2022 drop-off total was 484 pounds. Along with the spring and fall take-back Saturdays, OPD conducted collections at the Knolls of Oxford, and conducted NTBI information sessions at local civic group meetings (Oxford Lions, Rotary, and Kiwanis clubs).

Property Officer Perry Gordon

Training

Overview

Training was a major focus for the Division in 2023. The Continued Professional Training (CPT) requirements of 24 hours by the State of Ohio was met and exceeded by Division staff. CPT requirements that were completed:

Ohio School Threat Assessment

Legal Updates

Arrest, Search, and Seizure

The Division also conducted additional in-service Training

One Officer completed Ohio Peace Officer Basic Training Academy

Heart Saver First Aid/CPR and AED Training

24 hours of Tactical Police Officer Level I (NORSE Tactical)

8 hours Vehicle Interdiction (NORSE Tactical)

2 Officers to Red Dot Sight Instructor

Command staff officer completed CLEE (Certified Law Enforcement Executive) course

Judaism Training

2 Officers completed FTO (Field Training Officer) course

2 Officers completed drone pilot training

ICS 300, ICS 400, and ICS G-191 training (Incident Command Training)

1 Officer completed School Resource Officer Basic Training

Monthly classes from Justice Clearing House Training for Animal Control Officers to include Investigation of Animal Abuse and Prosecuting Animal Crimes

Education and updated training are a priority at the OPD. We place a high value on our staff keeping current with the industry standards in their field. The division also welcomes interest from employees in pursuing a specialization and strives to match those interests with division needs.

In addition to the above required in-service trainings, staff individually attended numerous other classes.

Chief Jones

Chief Jones with the FBI Director

Early in the year, Chief Jones attended the FBI National Academy (FBINA). Known as one of the premier law enforcement programs in the world, FBINA is a 10-week course located in Quantico, Virginia, and provides advanced training to senior officers who are proven leaders within their organizations. It is attended by hundreds of law enforcement executives from 47 states, ranging from very small to large metropolitan police departments, and also from 28 countries around the world. FBINA is renowned for facilitating networking between law enforcement leaders, but it also requires students to take a robust and demanding class schedule. Chief Jones took the following courses:

Critical Incident Leadership: Decision-Making

Navigating Internal Leadership Crises

Seminar on Managing the Law Enforcement Image

Essentials for Law Enforcement Executives

Managing Organizational Change and Development

Fitness in Law Enforcement

We congratulate the Chief on acing his academics and bringing back valuable knowledge and skills to apply here in Oxford.

The photo was published in the summer 2023 Ohio Attorney General’s newsletter, “On the Job-Criminal Justice Update” as a part of an article entitled, “FBI NATIONAL ACADEMY: A network of trust that helps Ohio”

an event uptown

Interns were uptown taking photos and assisting with Coffee with a Cop event

Every semester, the OPD accepts college students into their internship program. Typically, these are Miami University students who have a criminal justice or criminology major or minor and are required to complete over 120 internship hours. Unless the intern is tasked to work on special assignments, like records management work or the annual report, they are assigned to work with the Citizens Observer Patrol (COP). The COP is a volunteer-based citizen-staffed patrol, using a decommissioned police cruiser. They are given areas in town where an extra set of eyes and ears are welcomed and appreciated. They conduct speed studies, walk the area public trails, are watchful for school bus safety, patrol the elementary school area when kids are walking to and from school, patrol the retail parking lots for prevention purposes and more. When there are events in town, we ask them to don a safety

Area Trails lot while interns walk the path.

Interns working handing out candy during Trick-or-Treat

Transitions

Peyton Torres-Cruz is a new part-time PSA.

Pictured is our new hire, Austin Lovins, as he stands with Chief Jones at his police academy graduation.

Carter Rasmussen is a new part-time PSA.

NTNlogo-NTNisthenew testingcompanyweusefor ourwrittentestnow.

Breana Maupin is a new part-time dispatcher clerk.

Jana Emmons resigned to dive full-time into her 2 small businesses.

*Not pictured: Officers Rick Butler and Jake Hayes left OPD to pursue other professional endeavors.