Division of Police ...Developing Collaborative Partnerships for Safer Communities

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Westerville Division of Police ...Developing collaborative partnerships for safer communities

Annual Report 2016

Table of Contents

City Statistics ...... 4 Core Values, Vision & Mission Statement ...... 5 Command Staff...... 6 Letter from the Chief ...... 7 Organizational Chart ...... 9 Honor Guard ...... 10 Awards ...... 11 Budget ...... 15 Division/Officer Profile ...... 16 Calls for Service ...... 20 Crime Statistics ...... 22 Arrest Data ...... 25 Traffic Citations ...... 26 Accident Statistics ...... 27 Administration ...... 28 Strategic Plan ...... 30 Internal Affairs and Grievances ...... 31 Response to Resistance ...... 32 Assistant Chief of Services Operations ...... 33 Training ...... 35 Professional Standards ...... 36 Communications Bureau ...... 37 Records ...... 40 Community Services ...... 42 Animal Control ...... 43 D.A.R.E./Safety Belt ...... 44 School Resource Officers ...... 45

Being There When Needed

Table of Contents

Active Shooter Response Training ...... 47 Chief for a Day/Safety City ...... 48 Cops and Kids Day ...... 49 National Night Out ...... 50 Self Defense for Women ...... 51 Serving Our Seniors ...... 52 Citizens Police Academy ...... 53 Youth Police Academy ...... 54 Uptown 4rh Fridays ...... 55 Assistant Chief of Field Operations ...... 56 Detective Bureau ...... 58 Patrol Bureau ...... 61 Officer Safety/Below 100 ...... 69 Aerial Enforcement Unit ...... 70 Franklin County DUI Task Force ...... 71 Safe Kids Delaware ...... 72 Field Training Unit...... 73 K9 Unit ...... 74 Delaware Tactical Unit ...... 75 Bike Patrol ...... 76 Community Impact/V.I.P.S...... 77 Chaplain Corps ...... 78 Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association ...... 79 Citizens Watch-Path Watch/Block Watch ...... 80 Explorers Post ...... 81 Reserve Officer ...... 82 Special Olympics ...... 83

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Westerville, Ohio

City Manager’s Office 21 S. State Street Westerville, Ohio 43081 Phone: 614.901.6400 Fax: 614.901.6401

CITY MANAGER ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER David Collinsworth Julie Colley

COUNCIL MEMBERS Chair Craig Treneff Vice Chair Larry Jenkins Mayor Kathy Cocuzzi Vice Mayor John Bokros Tim Davey Diane Fosselman Mike Heyeck

City of Westerville

Core Values, Vision & Mission Statement

Westerville Division of Police Core Values

Integrity: We are committed to the highest standards of honesty and ethical conduct which are the foundations of our profession.

Commitment: We are dedicated to providing professional, quality services to our residents, businesses, and visitors to the City of Westerville.

Accountability: As public servants, we recognize the importance of gaining and maintaining the public’s trust.

espect: We will treat all people, and each other, with fairness and dignity. R

Empathy: We will always show concern and compassion for each situation and person we encounter. Westerville Division of Police Vision Statement It is our vision to provide a safe and welcoming city based on acceptance, inclusion and respect.

Westerville Division of Police Mission Statement The mission of the Westerville Division of Police is to provide exemplary service to the public. We are dedicated to responding to the needs of citizens, preventing crimes, and continually evolving to maintain the highest standards of service.

Command Staff

Chief Joseph Morbitzer

Assistant Chief Paul Scowden Assistant Chief Anthony Wilson

Lieutenant Jeff Gaylor Lieutenant Tracey Myers Lieutenant Ron McMillin

Letter from the Chief Developing Collaborative Partnerships for Safer Communities! Beginning in 2015 Governor Kasich initiated the Ohio Collaborative. This effort brought together representatives from various segments of Ohio society and professions to address police/community relationships. In 2016 the collaborative released the first set of “Ohio Standards” for law enforcement. These measures were formulated to provide benchmarks for law enforcement performance in the State. Throughout this past year the collaborative released additional standards. Upon the release of each standard we are proud to say we were in total compliance with each guideline. Standardization, cooperation and collaboration are not new concepts with our Division. Over the last several years we have spearheaded an effort Chief Joseph Morbitzer with both Delaware and Franklin County law enforcement to implement shared services plans. The concept is to share assets, eliminate redundancy, utilize purchasing power and standardize protocols in each county. These efforts will reduce costs, improve efficiency, set best practices, and ultimately provide better service to our citizens. Law enforcement agencies in both counties have been working diligently on this process and will continue their work to ensure that regionally we provide the most professional, efficient and effective service to our citizens. Ohio, as well as many other states and communities in the nation have seen an uptick in overall crime. Crimes are classified in two categories; Part I (more serious crimes) and Part II (less serious crimes). From an overall view, seventy percent of all crimes committed in Westerville are Part II crimes, or less serious crimes. In 2016 ninety eight percent of our Part I crimes were property crimes. Only two percent were violent crimes

which is an extremely low rate for a city of our size that is also a major suburb of a large metropolitan city. Of the Part I property crimes, eighty eight percent were larceny offenses fueled by the Opioid crisis. While we did see a slight increase in overall crimes in the City, there was a decrease in violent crime. The overall increase can be directly attributed to increased Opioid use, which not only affects our region but is a national crisis. In order to assist in curbing this scourge, we actively participate in the Opioid Task Forces in both Delaware and Franklin Counties. Additionally, I had the honor to serve on the Ohio Attorney General’s Ohio Joint Committee on Drug Use and Prevention Education. The focus of this committee was to develop statewide guidelines for early childhood drug prevention and education. A comprehensive report was released outlining best practices for schools and communities in addressing these issues. One thing that professionals across the spectrum can agree on is we can’t

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Letter from the Chief arrest our way out of the Opioid crisis. In 2016 the Ohio Legislature recommissioned a committee to recodify the Ohio Revised Code. As a committee, we approached this task from a restorative justice philosophy rather than punitive. The committee is comprised of professionals from across the state representing fields that interact with the Ohio Revised Code. This broad based approach was extremely helpful and provided varied perspectives in this effort. It is the goal of our committee to work towards a reduction in use and dependency of Opioids and related drugs in Ohio though a comprehensive recodification of the Ohio Revised Code. While we address the traditional areas of policing extremely well, we also excel in the outreach/programming areas. We are very proud to say that we have contact with our citizens from pre-K all the way through our older population. As you will see in this report we take every opportunity available to build these relationships. This was most evident this past year as we partnered Cops & Kids Day with the Westerville Area Resource Ministry (W.A.R.M.) Food Truck Fest. This combined event drew an estimated crowd of over 13,000 people. This type of outstanding community service would not be possible without great people. I want to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated staff and extremely committed volunteers. Without your passion and comprehensive understanding of Community Oriented Policing we would not be as successful as we are today. You realize that positive interactions are the key to successful community relations, and that everything is relational. Both staff and volunteers demonstrate this every day. We have seen the benefits of this philosophy in our monthly random performance surveys we distribute to citizens. These surveys, which have a high response of over 30%, evaluate our performance at a 92% satisfaction rate. Customer satisfaction is a result of your outstanding performance and genuine care for our community and citizens. As we move into the future we will be updating our strategic process and looking at better more efficient ways to serve the public. We will also be faced with a challenging situation. In the next five years 22% of our uniformed staff will be retiring. In 2017 we will begin to plan for this challenge by improving our succession plan with the implementation of an initiative called Professional Pathways. This will provide staff with mentorship, shadowing, educational and training opportunities and direction to fill upcoming vacancies. In closing, our thanks go out to our citizens for continued support. While we have seen challenging times across the country with police/community relations, we truly appreciate the continued support and collaboration with our citizens in making Westerville one of the greatest places in our great Country to live, work and visit!

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Organizational chart 2016

Sworn Officers 76; Civilian Staff 29; Part-time Civilian Staff 8 9

The Westerville Division of Police Honor Guard Unit has been in existence since 1989 and serves to represent the Police Department, the City of Westerville, as well as the law enforcement profession in ceremonial events. The unit participates in such things as parades, ceremonial events, and funerals mostly in the Central Ohio area; however, they have traveled throughout the state of Ohio and even to Washington D.C. The main events include the National Peace Officers Memorial in Washington D.C., the Ohio Peace Officers Memorial, the Cleveland Police Memorial and the three annual parades that are held in Westerville. In 2016, the Honor Guard participated in thirty-four different events, five funerals, and held five Honor Guard meetings and practices. Members of the Honor Guard made their annual trip to the National Peace Officer Memorial in May. During this assignment, they went to the airport and escorted survivors of fallen officers that were killed in the line of duty. Members escorted family members through the airport, collected their luggage and got them to buses that were HONOR GUARD UNIT waiting to take them to a host hotel. This continues to be one of the most honorable actions Honor Guard members have been privileged  Corporal Jack Johnson to be a part of since serving with this unit. While in Washington D.C.,  Corporal Greg LeValley the Honor Guard also participated in parades, a candle light vigil and

 Corporal Aaron Dickison paid tribute to all officers killed in the line of duty at the National Peace Officer Memorial Park.  Detective Mike Pavolino Another celebrated event is welcoming WWII veterans back home to  Officer Doug Staysniak the Columbus International Airport after they have attended the  Officer T.J. Ryan Westerville “Honor Flight” to Washington D.C. in September.  Officer Kurt Nightingale Additionally, the Honor Guard opened the annual Cops and Kids day  Officer Jon Bagwell event and conducted a 9/11 memorial event all in the same day.

 Officer Bryan Schwartz Officer Keith Jackson and Officer Justin Hibbitt were added to the Honor Guard in 2016. They have begun to train with the Honor Guard  Officer Keith Jackson and have helped out on various assignments. With the continued  Officer Dave Leighty increase in assignments, they have been an invaluable addition to  Officer Justin Hibbitt the unit.

Being There When Needed

Three people are selected for “Of the Year” Awards—one officer, one Awards reserve officer, and one civilian. The recipient is nominated and selected by his peers and has demonstrated excellent performance, productivity, responsibility, loyalty, and honesty in fulfilling the Division’s mission statement: “To provide exemplary service to the public” and have received no disciplinary action during the year.

Throughout the year, employees Officer of the Year have the privilege of nominating The 2016 Officer of the Year was Officer Gary Allen. Part of Officer their peers for different types of Allen’s nomination read: Officer Allen is one of the most dedicated awards and recognitions when they officers in the division. Parking Enforcement is an area where he see a co-worker going above and exceeds all other officers. He always offers his experience and knowledge to other officers. beyond their daily routine or just fulfilling our motto of “being there when needed.” Recognitions are also given when someone in the community calls or emails to compliment the employee’s actions. The awards committee reviews the nominations that are submitted to make sure the type of award truly fits the action so the integrity of the program is always maintained. The awards committee is made up of a lieutenant, a reserve officer, 2 police officers, and 2 civilians. The committee also plans the awards ceremony that is held annually in February and any retirement dinners. At the awards ceremony on February 7, 2017, the following awards were presented:

Officer Gary Allen

Awards Committee

Awards Reserve Officer of the Year The Reserve Officer of the Year for 2016 was Officer Nick Wolvin. Part of Reserve Officer Wolvin’s nomination reads: Nick is always responsible and gives 100% with a great attitude. There were many times when he would finish his job on third shift and show up several hours later for his commitment after very little sleep with a smile on his face.

Records tech Jonelle Jansheski

Reserve Officer Nick Wolvin

Civilian of the Year The Civilian of the Year for 2016 is Jonelle (Shelley) Jansheski. Part of her nomination reads: Jonelle consistenly displays a high level of productivity. She is always looking for ways to improve Records and the ability to provide exemplary customer service. She treats every- one with respect, dignity, and professionalism.

Awards Committee

Lifesaving Award The Lifesaving Award is awarded to an employee for an act performed Awards in the line of duty, which through personal disregard of personal safety or prompt action, results in saving a life. Lifesaving Awards were presented to: Officer Carrie O’Neil Corporal Jesse Hibbitt Corporal Greg Franey Officer Dan Betts Officer Doug Staysniak Officer TJ Ryan

Exceptional Duty Award The Exceptional Duty award is given to a sworn officer for the performance of an act or acts under conditions where bravery or other outstanding performance of duty occurred. Exceptional Duty awards were presented to:

Officer Dan Pignatelli Corporal Greg Franey received 3 Exceptional Duty awards Corporal Greg LeValley Officer Stacy Pentecost Officer Brian Gavaghan

Westerville Police staff were fortunate to receive numerous other awards in 2016:

 Chief Morbitzer: 2016 Helping Hands Award from the Delaware- Morrow Mental Health & Recovery Services Board

 Detective Mike Pavolino: 2016-2017 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award from the Veterans of Foreign Wars

 Officer David Leighty: MADD Award of Excellence

 Officer Carrie O’Neil: Crime Stoppers FOP#9 Officer of the Month

 Officer Dan Pignatelli: American Legion Law Officer of the Year Chief Morbitzer

Awards Committee

Award Classification

Award Description Personal Recognition of any employee for daily, routine activities –received via letter, phone call, or e-mail. Recognition

Commendation Recognition of any employee for activities which significantly exceed daily routine.

Awarded to any sworn officer for an act of heroism or service performed at great risk to his/her own safety or life, with full Medal of Honor knowledge of the risk involved, in an effort to save human life.

Awarded to any sworn officer for an act of heroism or service performed in the line of duty while engaged with an armed Medal of valor adversary with imminent risk to the officer’s own safety.

Awarded to any sworn officer for distinguished bravery in the arrest of a person(s) who was a major threat to the welfare of Gallantry Star the community and/or the sworn officer.

Awarded to any sworn officer who is wounded by an adversary in the line of duty which results in a serious injury to the Wound Medal sworn officer.

Awarded to any employee for an act performed in the line of duty, which, through disregard of personal safety or prompt and Lifesaving Medal alert action, results in saving a life.

Exceptional Duty Awarded to a sworn officer for the performance of an act or acts under conditions where bravery or other outstanding Award performance of duty occurred.

Honorable Service Awarded to any employee for an outstanding accomplishment that has resulted in improved administration, operations, or substantial savings in manpower or operational costs, where the employee has gone above and beyond the requirements of Award his/her assignment.

Awarded to any employee who consistently operates a city vehicle in the normal course of duty and who has no at-fault Safe Driving Award accidents for a three year period.

Educational Awarded to any employee upon satisfactory completion of an associate, bachelors, masters, or doctorate degree(s) at an Achievement accredited university, college, or technical school.

Attendance Award Awarded to employees who do not use any sick leave in the course of the previous calendar year.

Awarded to a private citizen or city employee who performs an act or acts of bravery in aiding (or attempting to aid) another citizen or sworn officer of the Division. Acts not amounting to bravery where necessary assistance is rendered to save the life Civilian Service Award of a citizen or sworn officer of the Division, or outstanding assistance rendered to the community or the Division are also considerations for the award.

Awarded to any employee serving in the armed forces and called to active duty for a national or international event for a Patriot Award period that exceeds ninety (90) consecutive days.

Awarded to a sworn officer from another law enforcement agency who, while involved in aiding the Division, performed an Mutual Aid Award act or acts, under conditions where bravery or other outstanding performance of duty brought personal public acclaim or recognition to the Division or law enforcement profession.

Awards Committee

Budget The general fund is the primary funding mechanism for Westerville. In 2016, the Division’s operating budget was $14,954,151.00.

The Division also leverages seized drug assets through state and federal forfeiture programs. Not only have these programs been extremely successful in severely hampering the ability of drug traffickers to acquire assets with money derived from illegal activities, but they have provided additional funding to offset the high costs of improved technology and major equipment purchases.

In 2016, seizure funds were used to purchase a K9, ballistic vests and pay miscellaneous technology charges and software subscriptions, saving the city and taxpayers $113,717.

Being There When Needed

Division The division consists of 113 employees, sworn and non-sworn staff. The City of Westerville has authorized 76 sworn full-time police officer Profile positions. There are additional employees (non-sworn positions), that support police functions in all division bureaus. These positions include Records technicians, dispatchers, administrative assistants, a community service aide, an animal control officer, a court liaison, and Crime Prevention Specialist/Analyst.

Personnel

 113 total employees

 76 sworn officers

 29 civilian staff

 8 part-time civilian staff

Being There When Needed

Officer Profile

Being There When Needed

Officer Profile

Statistics

 15 officers with prior military experience had a combined total of 110+ years of service to the United States Armed Forces. Two of these officers are currently on active status.

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Officer Officers who earn a college degree while employed with the Division receive an Educational Achievement Award. In addition, officers who Profile have a degree from an accredited college or university are entitled to an annual education incentive.

Educational Achievements for 2016: Officer Ryan Aspey and Officer Eric Winters completed the Supervisory Training and Education Program (STEP).

Corporal Greg LeValley completed the Police Executive Leadership College (PELC).

Sergeant Charles Chandler graduated from the Northwestern School of Staff and Command.

Statistics

64% of WPD officers hold an associate’s degree or higher.

6% of WPD officers have earned a college degree and served in the military.

Being There When Needed

Calls for This graph depicts the number of incidents occurring during a specific time and day of the week. Officer self-initiated activity is

included in the totals. Service

In 2016 our officers made 1,413 arrests. (This number includes booking,

non-booking, foreign, and 249 juve-

Red depicts thenile highest arrests). volume of calls for service combined with self-initiated activity.  Force had to be used in 24 of those arrests. (1.7%) Time Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

0000 477 299 282 326 307 321 438

0100 362 206 208 235 214 276 330

0200 297 157 182 175 234 201 297

0300 178 128 157 137 166 168 241

0400 102 112 109 121 123 104 120

0500 92 101 112 100 69 67 86

0600 94 119 139 128 131 124 89

0700 152 279 285 314 290 272 193

0800 206 308 337 334 325 289 240

0900 209 304 291 268 271 314 217

1000 228 304 320 317 315 319 302

1100 245 316 311 354 339 314 261

1200 249 333 321 292 300 320 247

1300 226 271 291 286 295 287 208

1400 280 306 369 307 315 301 248

1500 298 436 415 344 359 477 301

1600 323 377 378 352 317 411 336

1700 263 329 341 325 322 352 320

1800 296 311 341 293 321 333 309

1900 262 319 297 259 282 343 279

2000 248 289 278 266 276 357 339

2100 232 267 262 290 252 324 323

2200 232 251 225 260 253 349 329

2300 296 324 293 301 358 466 447

Being There When Needed

With the implementation of New World software in 2011, Calls for Calls for service were reassigned under a different log status. New World software also redefined “officer initiated activity” and allowed these statistics to be separated from dispatched calls for service. Service

In 2016 our officers made 1,413 arrests. (This number includes booking, non-booking, foreign, and 249 juve-

nile arrests).

 Force had to be used in 24 of those arrests. (1.7%)

Being There When Needed

Crime Statistics

Part I Offenses: Statistics There were 999 Part I offenses reported in 2016; a 28% increase A total of 3,359 offenses were from 783 Part I offenses reported in 2015. reported this year. For reporting purposes, these crimes are divided into two groups: Part I offenses and Part II offenses. Part I offenses are considered serious while Part II Part II Offenses: offenses are less severe. There were 2,360 Part II offenses reported in 2016; an 8% increase from 2,188 Part II offenses reported in 2015.

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Part I offenses are broken down between violent crimes and property Part 1 crimes. Violent crimes are murder, rape, robbery, and felonious/ aggravated assault. These crimes may result in serious harm or death. Property crimes are burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. These crimes involve property that is stolen or Offenses damaged.

Since Part I offenses include serious crimes, they are reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation each year for the Uniform Crime Reports.

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All other crimes not identified as Part I offenses are categorized as Part 2 Part II offenses. These include crimes such as drug abuse, telecommunications harassment, criminal damaging, simple assault, disorderly conduct, and O.V.I. In Westerville, the majority of calls for Offenses service are generated from Part II offenses.

In 2013, Part I offenses were less than one-third of the total crimes.

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Arrest Data

Statistics Numbers indicate an offender who is charged with at least one arrestable offense regardless of the number of additional charges or In 2016 our officers made 1,413 if a physical booking took place. arrests. (This number includes booking, non-booking, foreign, and Arrests (adults/juveniles): Arrests made on-view by Westerville 249 juvenile arrests). officers. Foreign Arrests: Arrests made by Westerville officers on warrants from other jurisdictions. Warrant Arrests: Arrests made by Westerville officers due to a warrant issued by Mayor’s Court.

11-year Arrest Overview

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Traffic Citations

Traffic Violations

Statistics

This year, there were a total of 5430  Speeding violations: 917 citations citations. The bar graph above  Handicapped parking violations: 101 citations indicates the three categories of  Licensing violations: 1572 violations citations. The line graph below shows citation trends over the last  OVI violations: 266 eleven years. 11-year citation overview

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Accident Statistics

Statistics

Above: This graph Wednes- Thurs- Satur- depicts the number Time Sunday Monday Tuesday day day Friday day of accidents over the 0000 6 2 1 1 0 1 3 last five years. There 0100 3 1 2 1 0 3 4 were a total of 1029 0200 6 2 1 2 5 2 6 accident reports in 0300 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 2016. 0400 3 1 1 2 0 0 2 0500 1 0 2 0 3 1 1

0600 2 2 18 8 3 5 3 Below: The number 0700 3 13 22 17 16 10 3 of dispatched calls to 0800 7 12 22 14 27 13 4 accidents by hour/ 0900 4 19 24 19 16 13 6 day of the week 1000 12 20 15 19 8 10 17 (note: the total is 1100 13 16 25 20 11 13 13 1824 calls but not all 1200 6 17 17 19 14 27 14 incidents required an 1300 12 24 24 29 25 24 7 official police report). 1400 7 13 17 32 20 21 7 1500 16 25 26 20 22 36 13 Red depicts the 1600 13 31 31 23 23 37 13 highest number of 1700 7 20 29 31 33 26 20 accidents. 1800 6 13 17 22 27 13 12 1900 12 12 4 10 9 11 11 2000 8 9 9 8 8 8 8 2100 4 3 4 10 5 8 5 2200 5 8 5 2 1 10 8 2300 4 5 3 0 4 5 7

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Administration The Administrative Bureau of the Westerville Division of Police includes a Professional Standards Officer, a Professional Development Officer, four Task Force Detectives, an Administrative Secretary, two Assistant Chiefs and the Chief of Police. In February of 2016, the division welcomed Assistant Chief Anthony Wilson to the department. Assistant Chief Wilson was chosen to replace former Assistant Chief George Taylor after an extensive nationwide search. He came to Westerville from the Columbus Police Department after serving there in many capacities for 24 years. He brings knowledge and experience in areas that the Westerville Division of Police wanted to improve upon; notably recruitment and internal affairs. We are also very proud that Assistant Chief Wilson also attained his doctorate degree in 2016. Assistant Chief Wilson is responsible for the Services Operations which includes Communications, Records, Community Services and the Administrative Bureaus. The Administrative Bureau makes sure that the department meets all standards and requirements by the state and federal government. In 2016, the State of Ohio began a state certification process that had been suggested to the Governor by the Ohio Collaborative Community–Police Advisory Board. The Westerville Division of Police achieved our inaugural certification with flying colors through the hard work of the Professional Standards Office led by Assistant Chief Anthony Wilson.

Some of the many duties of the Administrative Bureau are making sure that all policies are kept current, and new policies are written, reviewed, and implemented via training. The bureau is also responsible for the departmental budget; making sure that the budget is adhered to and that the division is fiscally responsible with its funds. The Assistant Chiefs are also responsible for investigating officer/employee misconduct. The Administrative Bureau works with many other city departments on numerous projects that happen throughout the city. The Chief and both Assistant Chiefs attend many regional meetings and serve on committees and boards throughout the Central Ohio region and the state that are related to public safety and the law enforcement profession. or the law

Administration Bureau

Administration

Our Professional Standards Officer is Officer Ryan Aspey. During 2016, the Professional Standards section reviewed and implemented 36 different policies using the Lexipol software. The Lexipol software allows the division to easily follow law enforcement “best practices”. The Professional Standards section also helped the division achieve the inaugural State of Ohio certification by meeting and exceeding standards established by the Ohio Collaborative Community Policing Advisory Board. Officer Aspey was also a finalist for the Westerville Division of Police Employee of the Year in 2016. He has also been chosen as the next officer promoted to the rank of Corporal when Lieutenant Gaylor retires in the second quarter of 2017. Our Professional Development Officer is Officer Dave King who was also very busy in 2016. In addition to planning and implementing our 40 hours of in-service training for every officer, the division hosted several external training classes. The training classes sponsored by the division were offered to departmental members as well as other law enforcement officers throughout Ohio. The external training classes were Below 100 training, Lock Picking Training, Tactical K-9 Casualty Care and First Responder Medical Training for Detectives.

As in years past, both Officer King and Aspey also helped supplement the Patrol Bureau on several occasions throughout the year assisting with calls for service as well as special events and prisoner transports during times when the patrol staff was either at a low staffing level or the calls for service were at extreme levels. Our Administrative Secretary Julie Reid is the nucleus of the Administrative Bureau that holds it all together. She makes sure that all financial issues are taken care of and manages the schedules for the Assistant Chiefs and the Chief of Police. Ms. Reid also makes sure that all personnel and training documents are entered and scanned into the records management system and kept up to date. Ms. Reid also sits on many different committees and boards such as the Awards Committee and the planning committee of the Ohio Law Enforcement Administrative Professionals (LEAP).

Administration Bureau

Administration

In 2016 the division also welcomed our own dedicated Systems/GIS Analyst Matthew Green. Matt is a graduate of Cedarville University where he received a bachelor’s degree in Management of Information Systems. By having Matt housed within the division, we have the availability to have most of our technology worked on immediately. This is a great help to the officers on the street and supervisors to get them up and running quickly. Matt is also able to assist with research and development of new technology. Having Matt has already been very beneficial to the division, and we look forward to implementing new technology in the future.

Strategic Plan

Since 2007 the Division of Police has formulated specific strategic goals based on citywide objectives set forth by the Westerville City Council. Each year this process and the resulting product have improved to become a greater instrument for the division, providing planning and direction and serving as the roadmap for staff to follow. Staff members representing all bureaus, units, and teams participate in the development of this process. Having staff develop the strategic process for review by command staff and the labor relations committee is very beneficial. The strategic process is based on specific goals and standards. Objectives can be attained by completing these goals and standards. Goals are new initiatives that will be undertaken in the upcoming Strategic Process. Standards are actions, programs, or events that reoccur year to year. By utilizing this strategic process we will become more effective and efficient. In every aspect this is a challenge for our staff and organization. Indeed, some of the goals can be considered extreme. However, with the outstanding staff of the Westerville Division of Police, we are eager to face these challenges, succeed in accomplishing our goals, and ultimately provide a safe place for people to live, work, visit, and engage in recreation.

Administration Bureau

Internal Affairs is established for the purpose of creating a process to Internal ensure the integrity of the actions of the staff in the agency. The goal of the internal affairs process is to maintain an internal review system based on objectivity, fairness, justice, and impartial Investigation. A supervisor taking an initial complaint or citizen inquiry regarding the Affairs & actions of an employee of the police department shall determine if a violation of Division policy, regulations, or guidelines has occurred. Greievances The determination of whether or not to initiate an internal affairs investigation will be made by a bureau commander, Division manager, assistant chief, or the chief of police. Complaints which could result in severe disciplinary action are investigated by the designated assistant chief. Findings are forwarded to the chief of police, and if allegations are substantiated, the chief will make a recommendation of the appropriate level of discipline to the city manager.

The internal affairs function is subject to the terms and conditions of the City of Westerville’s personnel code and the current collective bargaining agreement. Investigations into allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, or Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) issues will be handled in accordance with the City’s Personnel Code. In 2016, there were 6 internal affairs investigations conducted.

Grievances

Internal grievances are alleged violations or breaches of the Collective Bargaining Agreement involving uniformed personnel or the city personnel code involving civilian personnel. These actions initiate an appeals and hearing process, ultimately deciding an outcome for the alleged violation.

Historically, we have had very few grievances filed within the Division. In 2016, there were no grievances filed.

Administration Bureau

In 2016 our officers made 1,413 arrests. (This number includes Response to booking, non-booking, foreign, and 249 juvenile arrests). Force was used in 24 of those arrests.

Resistance USE OF FORCE BY SHIFT

First shift 0600 – 1400 Eight uses of force Summary Second shift 1400 – 2200 Eleven uses of force Third shift 2200 – 0600 Five uses of force

DEMOGRAPHICS OF RESISTIVE SUSPECTS

Force was used against six female suspects.

Five of the resistive suspects were under 18 years of age, which is Statistics 2% of the 245 arrested juveniles.

The youngest resistive person was 10 years old, and the oldest was  Force was used in 24 of the 58 years old. (Avg. age 25) 1,413 arrests. (1.7%) Six (25%) of the resistive subjects were African-American, and the  Officers were required to act remaining suspects were Caucasian. alone when using force in four incidents (.3%). Response to Resistance Breakdown by:  A Taser was used in three Month Day of Week Time of Day incidents, and OC was used in January 0 Sunday 3 6AM – 9AM 0 one incident. February 3 Monday 5 9AM – 12PM 3  No suspects have been engaged with an impact weapon since March 2 Tuesday 2 12PM – 3PM 6 2009. April 0 Wednesday 2 3PM – 6PM 4  Nineteen of the 24 subjects that May 4 Thursday 4 6PM – 9PM 5 resisted were impaired by drugs, June 1 Friday 3 9PM – 12AM 2 alcohol, and/or suffering from July 3 Saturday 5 12AM – 3AM 4 some form of mental health August 0 3AM – 6AM 0 issue. (80%) September 2 October 6 November 1 December 2

Administration Bureau

My name is Anthony Wilson. I joined the Westerville Police Services Department in 2016 and as the Assistant Chief of Services Operations, I currently oversee the Community Services Bureau, Records Bureau, and the Communications Bureau. Prior to my Operations employment with The City of Westerville, I worked for the Columbus Police Department. My assignments in Columbus included Uniformed Patrol, Minority Recruitment, Patrol Supervisor, Recruitment Supervisor, Background Investigations Supervisor, Internal Affairs Investigator, and Hostage Negotiator. I have a B.A. from Ohio Christian University, a M.A. from Liberty University, and a PhD from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. I am a member of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice. After collaborating with the department heads, we have come up with the following goals and objectives for the upcoming year for each bureau:

Goals and Objectives In 2016, the Community Services Bureau assisted in organizing one of the largest Cops and Kids days in the history of the police Assistant Chief Anthony Wilson department. The record crowds that attended this event are a testament to the police department’s commitment to serving the citizens, businesses, and visitors of the great City of Westerville. These efforts will continue to provide people with the opportunity to interact with law enforcement officers from all over the Central

Ohio Region. In 2017, the Community Services Bureau will seek to establish interactive community forums that will address issues that members of our community feel are important. These forums will touch on many of the local and national problems that are affecting our communities. Situations such as the current heroin epidemic shows the need for the police and the community to work together to develop a plan of action to address these types of concerns. In 2016, the Communications Bureau sought to acquire the dispatching services of other local police agencies. With state of the art equipment and a vast amount of experience, the Communications Bureau is prepared to provide these services to other Central Ohio agencies. In addition, the Bureau began the process of programming and re-programming radios that were being used by various departments within the City of Westerville. a practical understanding of how to call 9-1-1. The 9-1-1 Cell Phone

Services Operations

In 2017, the Communications Bureau will seek to educate our customers by participating in more public education activities and increasing their involvement in the community by attending community events and meetings with the newly acquired Cell Phone Sally, a 9-1-1 mascot. Cell Phone Sally will help children gain a practical understanding of how to call 9-1-1. The 9-1-1 Cell Phone mascot is part of the Bureau’s 9-1-1 educational campaign to inform people how to call 9-1-1 on different communication devices. Cell Phone Sally's message encourages people to verify their cellular phone number, as well as to identify landmarks when making a cellular 9-1-1 call, in order to ensure that emergency response arrives at the correct location. The Bureau will continue to develop and maintain open relationships with other agencies, organizations and the community at large. In 2016, members of the Records Bureau completed the task of preparing records to be loaded into the OnBase document management software. This project allowed for an increase in productivity, reduced operating costs and ease of record retrieval for archived documents. While the primary goal of the Records Bureau is to provide support for the police division, a considerable portion of time is spent working directly with the public. Service to the public is of utmost concern and the unit strives to be responsible to the problems and concerns of citizens seeking police assistance. The personnel in the Records Bureau section will continually develop methods to improve efficiency by attending training associated with records management, evidence intake, and customer service.

Services Operations

Police Training Unit In 2016, we conducted eight sessions of 36 hour in-service training which included the following topics: Training Officer Dave King uses an evaluation system to track and assess the quality of external training that officers receive. With this evaluation system, he can examine each course on an individual basis and determine the cost effectiveness and value of knowledge for future attendees. This year, the division sent officers to 68 out-of-house training classes. Thirty-seven of seventy-six sworn personnel attended at least one out-of-house training event.

The division hosted the following classes: 1. Lock Picking and Specialized Entry Techniques presented by Hollotec 2. Chief Bob Paudert’s seminar on the West Memphis Shooting

Court Liaison

Retired Officer Phil Pennington serves as the Court Liaison. This position is a part-time civilian position that is integral to the department for the transportation of case documentation between the police department, prosecutor’s office, and Franklin County and Delaware County courts, as well as evidence submission to labs including the Columbus Police Division crime lab, Ohio State Highway Patrol crime lab, and BCI&I (Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation). The Court Liaison also represents officers at most preliminary hearings. As a result, in 2016, the position saved $380,891 in officer overtime and 250 hours that an officer was not taken out of service to perform these tasks.

Administration Bureau

Professional Standards Unit Professional Standards maintains and updates the Division’s policies and procedures as needed, providing a framework for officers to do their jobs as they carry out the mission of the Westerville Division of Police. In addition, Professional Standards helped the Division achieve Ohio Collaborative law enforcement agency certification. The Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board established state standards for police departments for the first time in Ohio’s history regarding the use of force including use of deadly force and employee recruitment and hiring to guide law enforcement agencies in Ohio. The Division received certification, proving that we meet or exceed the standards set forth and reinforcing our commitment to accountability while instilling greater confidence with the community. The Division also subscribes to Lexipol, a policy management system. Lexipol provides current examples and updates to police policies based on federal law, state law, and law enforcement “best practices.” Since subscribing to Lexipol in 2014, Professional Standards has worked diligently to customize these policies to reflect the mission of the Westerville Division of Police. Agency supervisors and in-house subject matter experts provide valuable feedback on policy development.

Notable policy updates in 2016 include the Standards of Conduct and Temporary Holding Facility.  Our Standards of Conduct policy ensures we are at the forefront of professionalism and accountability. These standards outline requirements and expectations consistent with the values and mission of the agency.  The Temporary Holding Facility is used to detain arrestees for processing prior to being released or transported to the county jail. The Division continues to meet and exceed every standard established by Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.  All employees must review and electronically acknowledge each policy, ensuring accountability. In addition, Professional Standards reviews a policy topic at the monthly Division staff meetings.  Professional Standards serves as the Division's Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway (OHLEG) coordinator. OHLEG is an electronic law enforcement database maintained by the Ohio Attorney General's office that provides resources including criminal justice data, investigative tools, and training applications. Professional Standards ensures Division compliance with the Attorney General's guidelines.  Professional Standards represented the Division on the citywide Health and Wellness Committee, Green Team and provided assistance and support with training functions, court liaison responsibilities, patrol operations, background investigations, Mayor’s Court, and community events.

Administration Bureau

Communications

Personnel All division employees completed monthly in-service training on topics such as Hazardous Materials & Fire Dispatching, Water Rescues & Wireless Phones, Leadership and Amber Alerts, NIMS Mission Focus (National Incident Management System) training, and attended a variety of courses outside the City in order to maintain their EMD, The primary mission of the LEADS/NCIC, and CPR certifications. Examples of outside training Westerville Communications Division include Crisis Negotiations, Disaster Operations and Leadership is to support the divisions of Police Training. Dispatchers continue to be tested on a random basis on and Fire in meeting the public safety their TTY skills in communicating with the City’s deaf population. needs of the community. The In 2016, between landline and wireless 9-1-1 calls, Communications Division also serves the emergency employees answered approximately 16,500 phone calls. Adding in communication needs of other city the calls received on the non-emergency phone lines and the internal departments. administrative lines, the number jumps to just over 76,000. Each call that required the assistance of public safety personnel was created and ready to be dispatched to responders well within an The three most important objectives average of 60-80 seconds. for the Communications technician are to assist the public, assist At the end of 2016, a 24 year veteran of the Communications emergency personnel in the field, Division, Claudia Estepp, retired. Although she will be dearly missed, and assist fellow dispatchers by we wish her many happy years of relaxation! Her retirement created working together as a team. a full-time opening and Taylor Poches, who was a part-time employee, accepted and started the full-time position as of January 1st. By following these guidelines we can ensure the protection of property, assist in the saving of lives, and work towards the enforcement of the laws and ordinances of the State of Ohio and the City of Westerville.

Communications Bureau

Child Car Seat Inspections Community Service Communications Technician Kippy Shurman, Susan Vargo, Carolyn Communications Technicians and Preston, Kim Douglas, Christy Bailey, Marcy Ross, Mike Kusche, Amy Car Seat Technicians Christy Bailey Dent and Chris Kapel participated in the public education activities and Carolyn Preston continue to for 2016. Events attended include puppet shows with both the assist the Fire Division with the child Police and Fire Divisions, Serving our Seniors Day, Safety City, Cops passenger safety program. One and Kids day and other various functions sponsored by the City Parks more Communications Technician/ and Recreation Division, City schools and other related organizations. Car Seat Technician was added to the group in 2016, Laura Davisson. The Community Care program continues to catch the interest of Numerous hours were devoted to some local residents and groups. Community Care (formerly Safe not only checking and properly Call), which is a free telephone check in service offered to City of installing car seats, but also Westerville and Blendon Township residents, is easy to sign up for teaching car seat education classes and provides an extra well-being check for those that may need it. through Mt. Carmel St. Ann’s to For further information on this program, contact Kippy Shurman at healthcare personnel and parents. 614-901-6790. Nine out of ten car seats have some Susan Vargo assists with teaching a class at the Police Division’s type of misuse that could result in a Citizens Police Academy covering the various duties and specific child not surviving a crash. The personnel responsibilities of employees within the Communications combined efforts of car seat Division. Members of the Communications Division also participate technicians from the Fire, Police and in the 4th Friday events showcasing the particulars of working in the Communications Division make it Communications Center. possible to assist more parents with correct car seat installation making sure that children are safe for the everyday car ride. For further information on having a car seat inspection completed, contact 614- 901-6889. For further information on the Child Passenger Safety training classes contact Christy Bailey at 614-901-6790.

In totality for 2016, Christy, Carolyn and Laura assisted in part with the team’s completion of 100 car seat checks/installations. Two Community Car Seat events were also held at St. Ann’s Hospital which they participated in.

Communications Bureau

Vesta Communicator and Vesta Alert The Westerville Communications Division utilizes an Emergency notifications tool hosted on the web by Airbus-DSComm. This system, administered by Communications employees Mike Kusche, Kippy Shurman, Laura Davisson and Chris Kapel, provides alerts to the community based on true emergencies, such as disaster notification, public safety information and/or alerts pertaining to missing children, hazardous spills and major power outages. The information is provided by voice message, email and/or text, depending on the preferences selected during registration and dependent on the area that may be affected. In the past, information was only shared with residents who had traditional landline telephones. Now City residents can go to a web page provided by the City (https://westerville.onthealert.com/) to enter their cell phone number, email and unpublished landline to receive notifications for free. Currently there are around 1,050 City residents signed up for notifications. The Vesta Alert or “reverse 9-1-1” program was used in 2016 to notify over 3,000 residents of Missing Persons and 1000 people about a stabbing suspect that was at large. Each incident provided information to help residents and business owners be aware of current events in their neighborhoods. The Vesta Communicator program was used many times during the year for notification; preprogrammed groups for various events, public safety personnel for special duty or overtime for short notice staffing vacancies, Civilian Support Teams to assist in looking for missing persons, Fire Investigator callouts for Fire scenes, and Police and Fire staff notifications of important incidents that were in progress. All of these notifications were made by telephone or by text message using a text to speech technology which lets the user create one message and send it to multiple persons at one time which frees up personnel to do other tasks instead of manually making each phone call.

Radio Programming Steve Morlan helped with the transition of the Communications consoles to the new digital system, reprogrammed all City radios for all departments to work on the new system, and helped acquire APX8000 radios for Police and Fire Departments. He also helped to save over $300,000.00 for the City on the price of the radios, which enhanced interoperability with all local, state, and federal agencies. The radios can also interoperate with emergency ham radio frequencies, and integrate with the new Westerville City School radio system. The Westerville City Schools now have access on their radios to contact the 9-1-1 center directly in the case of a major event at a school. He also helped with the purchase of radios to work on the school radio system which saved the City even more money due to the lower price of the radio equipment, and elimination of radio subscription fees for the City public service departments. Steve worked with the I.S. Department and is now able to program the new radios over the wireless network which saves time and will help with programming changes that occur throughout the year. Steve has also worked with local agencies, and DHS to acquire a single federal encryption key that all agencies will use to interoperate with federal agencies that we were not able to communicate directly with before. We will also use this key to connect DTU to all local SWAT departments, so SWAT and DTU can interoperate with each other. He is currently working on encrypting our LEADS radio traffic to help curb the possibility of identity theft.

Communications Bureau

Records Bureau The Records Bureau consists of a manager, a supervisor, one evidence technician, 3 full-time technicians, and two-part time technicians. This year found the Records Section filling several positions that were vacated in 2015. In January, full time employee Alex Esparza and part time employee Jane Grummel came on board. Jena Goshia Accomplishments joined the Records team on a part-time basis in August.

Records technicians had another productive year in 2016 while  Managing the Division's Retention Schedule is another providing outstanding customer service to the public and other function handled by Records Division members. They handle walk-in traffic at the Division lobby, personnel. Working closely with answer non-emergency telephone calls, and serve as the primary the Clerk of Council and the City support staff for the Division. Records technicians process all Records Commission, the paperwork generated by sworn staff, ensuring that the various forms Retention Schedule was revised in April to add several record are complete and forwarded to the proper court/agency. They enter series. This made forms more or merge from the mobile application a variety of police reports into manageable, most notably the LERMS, the Division’s public safety software. These records are the series titled “Report groundwork for various Division, state and federal reports including Attachments” which includes OIBRS, NIBRS, the OH Department of Youth Services Adult Facility documents that are scanned to reports, These documents can OJJDP Compliance Survey, and the Ohio Juvenile Race and Ethnicity now be disposed of once they Report. Records technicians also provided 11,384 report copies and are scanned to the electronic 2,059 record checks, expunged 136 records, and performed matron record in LERMS (our public duties for 70 arrestees. safety software).

 The conversion of data in HTE (our old public safety software) to New World was officially finished the end of the year. Going forward, records technicians will be working in one public safety software solution saving them valuable time and making them more expeditious when searching for information.

Records Bureau

Accomplishments Evidence

 Effective March 1, 2016 the Evidence processing and maintenance is also handled by Records Bureau of Criminal Identification personnel. Evidence collected at a crime scene can be critical in and Investigation (BCI&I) solving a crime and obtaining a conviction in court. It is important laboratory advised all police that evidence be properly collected, processed and maintained to departments that they would no preserve its credibility and admissibility to court. Records longer accept minor misdemean- or quantities of marihuana – technicians play a critical role by properly documenting the chain of samples weighing 100 grams or custody of evidence and maintaining it in the Division's storage areas. less – for analysis. Since the vast Evidence requiring lab testing is also prepared and submitted to the majority of marihuana seized by Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI&I) or the officers weighs less than 100 Columbus Police Crime Lab. Records personnel also handle the grams, in-house testing was going to increase significantly. in-house testing of substances suspected of being marihuana. A total To meet this demand, a records of 5,657 pieces of evidence and property were received by Records technician was trained and during 2016. Technicians also completed nine court approved certified at the Ohio Peace evidence/ property disposals to keep active items at a manageable Officer Training Academy to level. confirm the presence of marihuana in samples submitted as evidence. Records now has two technicians qualified to do the testing, In 2016 there were 345 samples tested, a notable increase when compared to 21 samples in 2015.  Records personnel remained active by serving on various Division and City committees throughout 2016 including the WeServe Customer Service Committee, Procurement Administrators Group, City Awards Committee, Division Recruitment Team and Leadership Westerville. Performance Survey

Once a month, reports are queried to randomly choose complainants who have filed reports with the Division. Approximately 30 individuals are mailed a survey consisting of ten statements regarding the performance of Division personnel involved in their incident. Respondents are asked to choose “N/A” or a number from one to four that corresponds with their feelings regarding the statement, ranging from “totally disagree” to “totally agree”. The survey also includes an area for respondents to write comments or request additional information regarding Division programs, such as Safe Call and VIPS. Returned surveys are scored and included in a monthly summary. In 2016, 25% of surveys were returned by respondents. The average performance score was a 96.52%. The Division’s Performance Survey is a valuable tool in measuring how well the public thinks Division employees are serving their needs.

Records Bureau

Community Services The Community Services Bureau is one of six bureaus within the Division of Police. The Community Services Bureau currently consists of 14 staff members to include: (1) Lieutenant, (1) Sergeant, (5) School Resource Officers, (1) D.A.R.E Officers, (1) Crime Prevention Officer, (2) Civilian Crime Prevention Analysts (1) Animal Control Officer, (1) Uptown Liaison Officer and (1) Community Services Aide. You can learn more about each of these positions by reading the articles that follow. Each bureau within the division has both unique and overlapping responsibilities to provide our community with the best possible police service. The Community Services Bureau strives to fulfill the Lieutenant Ron McMillin mission of the Division of Police by building and maintaining strong partnerships with our community members through the delivery of numerous education and outreach programs. Most of the programs offered were developed and have evolved to meet the interests and demands of the community. The division offers a wide variety of public safety programs to address the needs of each age group. Mission of the Bureau Some of our more popular programs include: the Citizen’s Police Academy, the Youth Police Academy, the Youth Explorer Post, Women’s Self Defense Classes, Active Shooter Awareness/ The mission of the Community Preparedness, D.A.R.E, and Impaired and Distracted driving Services bureau is to partner with education, just to name a few. Some of the more popular events our community members to build hosted by the Division include: the annual Cops and Kids Day, strong relationships aimed at National Night Out, and Serving Our Seniors Day. To learn more about our many programs, to register for classes or to make improving the safety and security of presentation requests, please go to our website at https:// our city. This is accomplished by www.westerville.org/services/policeor call 614-901-6450. maintaining open lines of The men and women of the Division of Police sincerely appreciate the communication and through the tremendous support the Westerville community has shown for us. The implementation of proactive crime relationships and the partnerships we have built together over the years have gone a long way to make this one of the safest prevention and education efforts . communities in the state. We encourage you to be actively involved in your community and with your police. In partnership, we will continue to improve the services we offer while providing a safe community to live, work, and play. Please stop to talk with an officer the next time you see one. We would love to meet you.

Community Services Bureau

Westerville Animal Control Animal

Control Westerville residents did an amazing job keeping their dog’s home last year. Although animal control fielded almost Officer 340 calls regarding dog complaints, only 34 were impounded and 27 were returned to their owner due to having tags on the collar or chips. A number of dogs went directly from the finder back to the owner because more dog owners are making sure their dogs have tags or chips. Cat complaints were also down this year. Animal control received 165 calls regarding Kim Stambaugh cats. Only 21 cats were impounded but sadly just 5  Wildlife complaints totaled at were returned to their owner. 378 Unlike dogs, cats are less likely to be collared and tagged,  Dog complaints totaled 340 making it harder to get them home. There are no required hold times  Cat complaints totaled 165 and no designated shelters for cats because they are not licensed like dogs. Please make sure your cats are chipped if they are not tagged. Wildlife complaints jumped a bit in 2016 with 378 phone complaints. Raccoons and skunks were the majority of the calls followed up by sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife. The Ohio wildlife center plays a big role in helping wildlife return from their injuries and illness. Of the 6 opossums transported to OWC this year, 5 returned to the wild in spite of having skull fractures from being hit by a car. They also helped several birds of prey, bats, foxes, and squirrels. They are a very valuable resource for animal control and the Westerville community. Due to the warm winter we are seeing a spike in raccoons and skunks that appear to be ill from distemper. If you see a raccoon or skunk out in the daytime walking in circles or falling over please notify animal control. We do our best to contain them and get them cared for or euthanized as necessary to protect the public.

Community Services Bureau

Officer Carrie O’Neil and Officer Dan Pignatelli are the D.A.R.E Officers for 11 Westerville City Drug Schools. There are approximately 800 students in the 5th grade D.A.R.E. classes. Abuse The 5th grade DARE Curriculum is called “Keepin’ It Real.” The Purpose of teaching DARE is to teach our children to resist drugs, resist peer pressure, avoid violence, and to make good decisions. The Resistance officers teach 13-14 different topics in their lessons. They discuss what it means to be a Education good citizen and how to help others. They discuss what to do if they are being bullied, and what to do if they witness someone else who is being bullied. They teach the students about alcohol, tobacco products, and other drugs. Drug Use Prevention Grant They also teach the students how to read drug fact labels on medicine and prescription  Grant money received $ labels. The students learn the dangers of  2 sworn officers abusing prescription and over-the-counter drugs. In the lessons, the students are able to role play and practice how to say no.

Ohio Department of D.A.R.E. officers also teach the Ohio Public Safety Third Grade Safety Belt Program, originally started by the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Although the program is no longer sponsored by the state, the Westerville Division of Police and Westerville City Schools have continued to utilize the 3rd Grade curriculum in third grade classrooms.

Seatbelt This program stresses the importance of safety belt usage and Safety encourages the third grade students to remind others in the car to “BUCKLE UP". Children must be restrained in a federal approved safety seat or use a booster until they are 8 years old, or at least 4 feet 9 inches tall.

Community Services Bureau

SRO Program

Westerville South High School has approximately 1500 students and 120 staff members. Officer Baker has served as South’s School Resource Officer since November, 2007. Several crime prevention measures were utilized throughout the year. Officer Baker spoke at the new student meeting at the beginning of the school year and encouraged students to lock their gym and school lockers to protect their property. He also spoke on the ramifications of being involved in a fight at school as well as internet safety. Officer Baker also made public Officers Doug Staysniak and Cory service announcements throughout the year as a part of the school’s Baker daily announcements. The division’s SIDNE (Simulated Impaired Driving Experience) program, with the addition of the Maria’s Message Simulator, was presented in the senior level Government classes during the week of the Junior/Senior prom. These classes consisted of approximately 300 students. Another program Officer Baker organized as a part of prom week was AAA’s Vehicle Maintenance Inspection which provided a free-of-charge safety inspection on vehicles students were driving to school. Other classes Officer Baker was invited to present in included Psychology, AP/IB American History, The Law and You, Spanish and Sociology. Westerville North High School has approximately 1459 students and 85 staff members on a daily basis. The school operates under the direction of Principal Kurt Yancey and Assistant Principals Stephanie McGeorge and Scott Gaddis. Officer Dross is assigned to the school and can regularly be found walking the halls. Westerville North has the North Pointe program which assists students that have severe mental health and behavior issues. The program can have up to twenty students at any given time. Throughout the year, Officer Dross provides information to students on ways to deter thefts. The majority of thefts occur by students leaving their belongings unattended or not locked in a locker. Classes taught include laws of arrest, OVI, and social media awareness. Officer Dross supports Westerville North High School by attending sporting events, assemblies and other after school activities. Heritage Middle School is one of four middle schools in the Westerville City School District. It officially opened its doors in 1989. Heritage enrolls approximately 900 students and employs 75 staff members. Heritage Middle School has programs for students with special needs, ESL (English as a Second Language) students and is home to the Westerville North Pointe Program for middle school age children. Officer Doug Staysniak is currently assigned as the full time School Recourse Officer for Heritage. Officer Staysniak enjoys working closely with the school administration and teachers to provide the safest school environment possible. He also assists with teaching classes on personal safety, drug and alcohol prevention, internet safety and law. By taking into account the three main roles and responsibilities of a School Resource Officer: law enforcement officer, counselor, and educator, Officer Staysniak spends his time mentoring and counseling students as well as handling any and all criminal activity with regards to the students and staff.

School-Police Partnerships

Walnut Springs, the first of four middle schools operating in the SRO Westerville City School District, opened its doors in 1965. The school, originally built to accommodate a population of 600 students, now Program provides educational services to approximately 950 students after several renovations through the years. Walnut Springs also services and supports the largest population of special needs students and English, as a second language, (ESL) students. The school employs approximately 85 staff members, and is administratively run by Principal Rebecca Yanni and Assistant Principal Ernest Clinkscale. Officer Erin Peachey currently serves as the full-time School Resource Officer (SRO) for Walnut Springs and assists school personnel in a variety of functions. She has taught classes on school/personal safety, social media awareness, laws of arrest, search and seizure, and drug and alcohol abuse. She has also helped to implement the A.L.I.C.E. program into Walnut Springs and the entire school district. Utilizing the SRO philosophy, she spends her time mentoring and Officer Erin Peachey counseling students, as well as handling all criminal activity on school property, in relation to staff and students. Officer Peachey and the A day in the life of an SRO: https:// school administration work closely together, and have developed a www.youtube.com/watch? strong and professional relationship. . Officer Ware is the School Resource Officer at Blendon Middle School. Utilizing the SRO philosophy, he spends his time mentoring and counseling students as well as handling any criminal activity with regards to the students and staff. Officer Ware is also responsible for maintaining building security and updating the site survey. Officer Ware, along with other instructors, continues to train staff members throughout the district on how to react to building and transportation threats. Due to positive results at Blendon Middle School, the Success Coach program has been expanded to include 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. This is a program that identifies students that Officer Matt Ware may be at risk through poor attendance, grades, and discipline. They work closely with a mentoring teacher to help them make positive choices to be more successful in school and at home. Officer Ware participates in school dances, sporting events, social clubs, National Junior Honor Society, and Renaissance Days. Officer Ware continues his involvement with students of all ages in other Community Service programs, such as: Safety City, Cops and Kids Day, National Night Out, Serving Our Seniors, and the Westerville Police Explorer Post #29.

School-Police Partnerships

Active Shooter Response Training

The Run, Hide, Fight programs are training concepts used to instruct schools, universities, places of worship, hospitals, and businesses how respond to armed intruders. Each program consists of proactive strategies which increase chances of survival during an armed intruder event. While there is always a risk of causalities or injuries during an active shooter incident, these programs attempt to pass on knowledge to empower people with options in order to increase survival rates. These concepts do not dismiss the lockdown or securing-in-place philosophy, they simply recommend enhancing the lockdown strategy by using barricading techniques. Using the traditional lockdown-only method, which promotes securing in place behind a locked door and waiting, is not always the best response to an armed intruder. In many instances, it does little more than create easy targets. Common sense tells us that it is easier to hit a sitting duck than a moving target, and research and situational analysis prove this to be true. These programs teach techniques for enhancing lockdown, as well as other strategies for improving survivability. Officers John Jeffries and Dan Pignatelli conduct the training at public and private businesses, schools, houses of worship, and other public groups. Please contact Officer Daniel Pignatelli for more information at 614-901-6489 or email [email protected].

Community Services Bureau

Chief for a Day is a unique Chief for a opportunity offered to local business, civic, and Day community leaders in Central Ohio. This quarterly event offers an in-depth look into the daily operations of the Westerville Division of Police. During the day-long event, invitees receive firearm instruction, are briefed on departmental Drug Grant Use money Prevention received $ Grant structure/programming, ride with a patrol officer, and enjoy a luncheon with Westerville’s  2 sworn officers mayor and city manager. The day concludes with a roundtable with  Executive Staff on topics such as best business practices, onboarding, sustainability, succession planning, strategic processing, and implementation of private sector concepts into public service. Chief for a Day allows the department to build relationships with many influential entities in the area, and develop strategies that benefit our overall community-oriented policing goals.

First brought to Westerville in 1977, Safety Safety City City is a program designed to teach students getting ready to enter  In 2016, there were 360 kindergarten in the fall about a variety of safety issues. Each student students who participated in the is taught basic rules of traffic and pedestrian safety, fire prevention, program school bus safety, poison control, gun safety, water safety, and stranger awareness. Safety City is a non-profit organization operated  Registration begins April 17th at by a board of directors. Although experienced teachers instruct the 12:00 a.m. for 2017 children in the classroom, this organization coordinates the cooperative efforts of teenage helpers and a variety of Westerville entities including the Westerville Divisions of Fire, Police, and Communications. The Westerville City School District participates by allowing the use of their facilities for the two-week program. Part of the safety curriculum focuses on Safety Town. Safety Town is comprised of miniature streets and crosswalks, traffic lights and familiar buildings such as the library, schools, and stores, all of which were designed and constructed by our officers. The students ride tricycles as vehicles throughout the town while they practice safety and traffic rules. Upon completion of the program, each student receives a certificate of achievement and participates in a graduation ceremony. Registration is held in April every year and is online.

Community Services Bureau

Explorer Post #2029 Cops & Kids Day Opes sed nonummy tation augue pecus. Venio regula ea fatua incas- Cops & Kids Day is one of the premier sum. Nisl quia et aliquip, scisco roto community minim ali quip macto duis. Wisi regula programs offered by eum consectetuer ut mos tamen en- the division and is im, aliquip feugait regula. Ut amet one of the largest one-day law Mission Focus enforcement events in Ohio. This free

annual event promotes building and strengthening relationships between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. Cops & Kids day attracts over 50 agencies statewide, and affords them the opportunity to display their cruisers, K-9s, tactical vehicles, and even helicopters. Many agencies conduct interactive Information demonstrations which provide visitors with great insight into the equipment and capabilities of law enforcement. Please visit the Westerville Division The learning experience offered at Cops & Kids Day is of Police Web site to learn more supplemented by many fun experiences including inflatable about the program : https:// games, live music, dunk tank, and craft-making, which help make www.westerville.org/services/ it a very rewarding experience. The 1st 1000 kids in attendance police/community-services/cops- kids-day receive a goody bag, and those who receive a “golden ticket” receive additional prizes. In 2016, we partnered with the Westerville Area Resource Ministry (WARM) to combine the food truck festival with Cops and Kids Day which subsequently drew an estimated crowd of 16,000 people. By combining Cops and Kids Day and the WARM Food Truck Festival with over 30 food trucks, this has truly become a premier event.

Community Services Bureau

National Night Out The City of Westerville residents continue to participate in anti-crime efforts. One such effort is known as Neighborhood Watch. Through the efforts of a coordinator, neighbors organize and keep a general crime prevention eye on their neighborhood and report suspicious incidents to the police. In addition to the crime preventative goal of the neighborhood watch, the program is primarily designed to bring neighbors together in an effort to develop positive community relationships. National Night Out is one function that does bring the neighbors and police together. With the help of Westerville City Officials and the Fire Division the National Night Out event brings neighborhoods together to send a message to criminals that our neighbors are organized and fighting back. This annual event, like a block party, is held on the first Tuesday of August from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The event is scheduled nationwide and is designed to (1) heighten crime and drug prevention awareness; (2) generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs; (3) strengthen neighborhood spirit and police community partnerships. Participation in the National Night Out Program continues to be a great benefit to the City residents and it’s employees. Neighborhood Watch Groups wishing to participate should register through the City of Westerville Website or contact the Crime Prevention Officer at (614) 901-6472.

Community Services Bureau

Self Defense for Women The Division’s Self-Defense for Women Program continued its pursuit to educate women in an effort to heighten awareness and reduce risks associated with victimization. The course is taught through a cooperative effort between Division self-defense instructors, civilian staff, and volunteers. The focus of the program remains on simple, effective concepts and techniques related to mindset, decision-making, and personal defense. It was again a popular choice among the community-oriented programs offered by the Division and saw five classes held over the course of the year. The program’s attendance ranged from high school and college students to young professionals to retirees. Mother/daughter tandems were also a popular theme again this year. As in the past, some participants shared personal experiences that prompted enrollment, while others indicated they wanted to be proactive and prepared in the event they encountered a situation that forced them to defend themselves. Participant feedback was once again positive in 2016, for a program that continues to grow through referrals and has also begun to see repeat attendance from those seeking to refresh skills learned in a past class. Those seeking additional information on the program should visit the city’s website.

“Find the Strength to Face Your Fears”

2017 Class Schedule January 21, 2017 - Community Center April 8, 2017 - Community Center July 15, 2017 - Community Center October 7, 2017 - Community Center Community Services Bureau

Serving Our Seniors 2016 was another successful year for Serving Our Seniors Day. For the ninth year, seniors and caregivers were brought up to speed on the latest crime trends and scams that are active in Westerville and Central Ohio. This was the second year Serving Our Seniors Day was held at Westerville South High School and the number of public safety participation increased by 44% with 100% of surveyed guests reporting that their interactions with Westerville Public safety is always positive. In all, 80 vendors were present to assist 500 seniors with information about their products and services and over 90% of surveyed guests reported that they learned something new at the event. Year after year, Serving Our Seniors Day is successful because our department’s commitment to engaging seniors and caregivers in the community. The seniors in Westerville and surrounding areas look forward to this event because they gain knowledge and continue to build relationships with others in the community and public safety.

Community Services Bureau

Explorer Post #2029 Citizen Police Academy Opes sed nonummy tation augue The Westerville Police Division established a Citizen’s Police pecus. Venio regula ea fatua incas- Academy in 1999. Every year two classes are held. This year, an sum. Nisl quia et aliquip, scisco roto additional 41 students were added to the graduating roster. Twenty minim ali quip macto duis. Wisi regula six different subject titles were taught in each academy with a cadre eum consectetuer ut mos tamen en- of 25 different instructors. The general goal of the academy is to im, aliquip feugait regula. Ut amet develop a strong and positive relationship between the police and community. The academy has been successful from it’s start and the Application interest to participate continues to be strong. The academy is a 13-

Please visit the Westerville Division of Police Web site to learn more about the program and download the application: https:// www.westerville.org/services/ police/community-services/citizen- police-academy

week course in which students learn about the operations of the police department with topics such as patrol operations, drug investigation, and criminal law. Students also participate in building searches and ride-alongs as well as a firearms course. There is no charge for this program, but participants are required to have a cursory background check. Once the course is completed, participants have the opportunity to join the Westerville Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association (WCPAAA). Volunteers donate their time to various functions and events within the community.

Community Services Bureau

Explorer Post #2029 Youth Police Academy Opes sed nonummy tation augue The Westerville Division of pecus. Venio regula ea fatua incas- Police Youth Police sum. Nisl quia et aliquip, scisco roto Academy (YPA) is for minim ali quip macto duis. Wisi regula students who have a eum consectetuer ut mos tamen en- genuine interest in law enforcement. The YPA im, aliquip feugait regula. Ut amet provides young adults with a realistic view of law Mission Focus enforcement and careers in the field. The

This program is designed to help experience begins with the application process and, if accepted, young adults choose a career path continues with participation in a week long academy. Information within law enforcement, challenge received from the application will be verified to ensure the student them to become responsible citizens meets the participation criteria prior to being accepted to the of their communities, and ensure academy. Students who are interested must be 14 years of age they have a clear understanding of and have completed the eighth grade. The application must also police work and various assignments include their current grade card (at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA to in the field. qualify) and letter of recommendation from a school counselor, teacher, or principal, as well as an endorsement from their school resource officer. Application The curriculum focuses on a variety of law enforcement topics Please visit the Westerville Division utilizing both classroom and practical scenarios. The program also of Police Web site to learn more relies on team building and working together as a measure of about the program and download success. Cadets are assigned to a squad with a squad leader. the application: https:// Each squad works together as a unit and competes against one www.westerville.org/services/ another in several exercises. police/community-services/youth- Upon successful completion of the academy, students will have an police-academy or contact a School opportunity to join "Post 29" which is the Westerville Division of Resource Officer or the Community Police Explorer program. The division will be hosting its tenth YPA Services Bureau at 614-901-6860. in July 2017.

Community Services Bureau

Uptown 4th Fridays

The City Uptown Merchants host a 4th Friday celebration beginning in April and ending in October. Each event carries a theme which is celebrated by thousands from the community. It’s popularity increases by the year as we see by its attendance and vendor participation. The police support is obvious during each 4th Friday event. Both employees and volunteers participate by offering a wide variety of activities for the children. Child Digital Fingerprinting draws a big crowd as does the presence of Officer Friendly, P.C. the Patrol Car, and McGruff the Crime Dog. There are always officers are available to interact with all who attend. For more information on 4th Fridays, please visit the web site: www.visitwesterville.org

Community Services Bureau

Hello, my name is Jon Scowden and I am the Assistant Chief of Field Operations. I have been blessed to be a police officer for 26 years Field with most of those being in Westerville. I have served as a patrol officer, sergeant and lieutenant, as well as on numerous teams, committees and boards such as serving on the Delaware Tactical Operations Unit as an operator and marksman / observer and team leader, a field training officer, and FOP grievance representative, just to name a few. I currently have several ancillary duties that I am responsible for—I am the Administrative Commander of the Delaware Tactical Unit where I am the liaison between the tactical unit and the Delaware County Law Enforcement Executive board. I was also elected as the President of the Delaware County Criminal Justice Association in December and will be serving in this capacity during 2017. The Field Operations Section is comprised of the Patrol and Detective Bureaus and its main mission is to be the enforcement / prevention arm of the Division, but is also to support the overall mission of the Division in providing service to the public while responding to the needs of citizens, preventing crimes, and continually evolving to maintain the highest standards of service. The Field Operations Section is also committed to the community Assistant Chief Jon Scowden policing philosophy and looks for ways to teach and educate prior to taking an enforcement action. The members of these two bureaus are also involved in many different aspects of the Division’s community service programs from teaching in the Citizen Police Academy to giving community informational talks on police related issues. The patrol and detective bureaus are always looking to educate a greater audience than just our residents and those that work inside the city. One way this is done is through the media. The staff in both bureaus make themselves available for comment on certain topics or news stories whenever we are contacted by the news media. In this way, each bureau also goes out of its way to inform and educate the community as a whole when there are stories of interest or public service announcements that help educate the community. The Field Operations Section works in partnership with community organizations such as Otterbein University, Mt. Carmel St. Ann’s and Ohio Health Hospital to better educate and serve our citizens. This section is also responsible for research and development by utilizing a cross functional team consisting of staff from all areas of

Field Operations

the organization. The R& D Team are responsible for maintenance and upkeep of equipment, as well as all other equipment officers Field use on the street and jail or detectives use in their investigations. The team utilizes field testing of products to research possible Operations purchases of future equipment. Most operational events and planning also fall under the Operations Section of the division. Additionally, Bike Patrol, Accident Investigation, Jail Management, field training, directed enforcement and extra duty fall under the purview of the patrol bureau. Responsibilities of the Investigations bureau include financial crimes, juvenile investigations, general case work, criminal intelligence, as well as all background investigations. In 2015, our division and the Columbus Division of Police piloted an initiative called the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP). This program was initiated in the state of Maryland and had very positive results in protecting victims of domestic violence. In 2016, we compiled a full year of LAP statistics. Victims were also given the opportunity to seek help through regional providers for assistance. In 2017, we will be working to achieve the following goals: Patrol officers will be working with the schools, DARE Officers and School Resource Officers to develop a program called Police and Schools Together (PAST). This will allow patrol officers to work with elementary school staffing to become a familiar face to the students by being around the schools at different times of the day such as arrival, lunch, and dismissal times. In 2017 the Division’s Research and Development team will field test and evaluate body-worn cameras. The system chosen will be a fully integrated system that interfaces with the in-cruiser camera systems. We expect full implementation in 2018. For several years, the detective bureau has housed an Automated Fingerprint Information System (AFIS) machine. To increase the amount of solved cases, the Detective Bureau will work with the Patrol Bureau to increase the number of AFIS submissions by Patrol Officers by giving them training on how to lift AFIS quality prints with the ultimate goal of solving more cases. One of the most important goals of the Police Division is to achieve positive performance surveys from those we serve. The Field Operations Section and the division as a whole are dedicated to providing and maintaining exemplary service to our community.

Field Operations

Detective Bureau

I am Lieutenant Jeff Gaylor, and I am responsible for the overall guidance and direction of the detective bureau. I share supervisory responsibilities with Sergeant Charles Chandler who oversees the day-to-day operations. The bureau has a staff of one lieutenant, one sergeant, seven detectives and one full time administrative assistant. Although our detectives are highly trained and capable of investigating any case assigned to them, each has their own area of interest and specialization. We have detectives that excel in cases involving fraud and forgery, juvenile investigations, and theft cases. We also have detectives who possess special knowledge of Lieutenant Jeff Gaylor fingerprint processing and identification and tactical operations. One of our detectives was sent to work full-time with the Delaware County Drug Task Force. This is a multi-agency task force that is dedicated to working and investigating drug and narcotic cases. All Westerville cases involving drugs are referred to this task force for investigation. Mission of the Bureau The majority of cases investigated by the detective bureau come from The mission of the detective bureau the patrol bureau. Every report taken by patrol officers is reviewed by is to conduct comprehensive Sergeant Chandler to determine if further investigation by a detective is warranted. He considers factors such as serious personal injury or criminal investigations that lead to substantial property damage, a high value of loss, the physical the identification, arrest, and evidence collected or available, and potential suspect information. If successful prosecution of criminal one or more of these factors exist the case will most likely be assigned to a detective for additional investigation. In our agency, offenders. We primarily achieve our patrol officers are encouraged to investigate cases as much as mission by providing investigative practical before turning them over to the detective bureau. Many support to other bureaus within the times Sergeant Chandler will identify investigative leads that would be police division; however, if appropriate for follow-up by the reporting officer. In those instances, Sergeant Chandler will assign the case back to the reporting officer appropriate, we investigate other for investigation. All cases assigned to either detectives or patrol cases presented to us. officers are tracked to ensure they are investigated and successfully closed as quickly as possible. Detectives also acquire cases for investigation when they are called to the scene of major crimes by patrol supervisors. An on-call detective is always available twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, on a rotating basis.

Detective Bureau

Westerville police Since 2012, the number of investigative staff within the detective investigating if thieves are bureau has been reduced by almost thirty percent. With caseloads using new technology to remaining fairly steady, this means that we are faced with the dilemma of how to maintain current levels of service and break into cars. productivity with fewer resources. We have somewhat overcome Author: Maureen Kocot this obstacle through the use of networking and technology. By WESTERVILLE, Ohio sharing information and working with other jurisdictions that are

Police in Westerville want to know if high-tech investigating the same types of crimes that many times involve the thieves are exploiting security gaps after a series same offenders, we are able to pool resources reducing the of thefts from locked cars. Westerville police staffing demands on any one agency. One of our detectives works say in the overnight hours of July 28, officers with the United States Secret Service part-time on a task force that investigated a total of seven car break-ins in the investigates fraud and forgery cases. This saves time and money same neighborhood. Police reports reveal four allowing us to spread our detective staff to meet the increasing victims at three locations insist their cars were investigative demands. locked. Coincidentally, all four locked cars were Hondas. Police say they found no evidence to We have also leveraged technology to improve our efficiency. suggest the thieves pried their way inside. Investigators now have access to numerous informational data "Generally, they leave scratch marks on the win- bases that link bits and pieces of investigative data to provide dow or the door frame. There's always some them with solid leads aiding their abilities to successfully close small sign,” Lt. Tracey Myers said. difficult cases. We are also taking advantage of surveillance Meagan, she asked us not to use her last name, technology in the field. Historically, surveillance operations for is a Westerville mother of three and the only theft offenses have been very time and labor intensive with vigilant neighbor who confronted a man and numerous detectives being required to work a single operation. woman she caught rummaging through her Today, we utilize devices that can remain dormant for weeks and neighbor's car. She says one suspect was wear- months until moved and stolen. These devices then become active ing gloves and carrying a flashlight. "(They) and began sending texts, emails, and GPS location data to patrol were just very nonchalant about it taking things out and going through all of her belongings,” officers and investigators notifying them of the theft and its current Meagan said. The National Crime Insurance location. The only staff involvement required is the setting up of Bureau says mystery break-ins of a variety of the unit and the arrest of the offenders. makes and models have baffled police for years, Another huge draw on detective bureau resources is the but some of the crimes are caught on camera. completion of new employee backgrounds. Extensive backgrounds NCIB believes the devices confuse keyless entry are done on all sworn and civilian staff of the police department cars into thinking the fob is nearby amplifying and any position within the city that is considered sensitive in the signal it emits. Lt. Myers says regardless of nature. These backgrounds involve several interviews, a truth how the thieves are gaining entry into locked cars, you can eliminate crimes of opportunity in verification exam, weeks of investigation into an applicant’s your neighborhood by always cleaning out your educational and work history, a surprise home visit, and interviews car. "All the electronics and stuff, change, mon- with persons in the applicant’s immediate neighborhood. Most ey, purses, shoes, all that stuff needs to come backgrounds take between thirty and forty-five days to complete. out when you get home at night,” Lt. Myers In 2016, the detective bureau completed a total of 17 new said. employee backgrounds. ©2017 by 10TV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

Detective Bureau

Notable Cases for 2016

 16-33893 A particular family that has been involved in counterfeiting for several years passed counterfeit bills in January of 2016 at CVS. In December of 2016, the same family and other associates passed counterfeit bills at the Westerville Community Center. Through investigation, it was discovered where the manufacturing plant was operating. A search warrant was served and two arrests were made for passing and manufacturing U.S. currency. They are each subject to the maximum in Federal prison of 20 years and a $250,000 fine. The main suspect has eluded arrest for approximately two years. Both suspects have expressed that they want to avoid a trial and enter a plea.

 2015-21941 Even though it is a 2015 case the majority of the work was completed in 2016. This case is regarding a burglary in the Annehurst subdivision. It is believed fifteen burglaries throughout the year can be related to this suspect based on the MO. DNA was recovered from the scene and a match was made leading to some of the missing property being located. David Kasser was arrested and indicted on Aggravated Burglary, 2 counts of theft, Weapons Under Disability, and Drug Possession (out of the arrest). We also received a DNA match to an unsolved 2008 Burglary in Columbus and working with the Columbus Police Department, were able to get the suspect indicted on their case as well.

 16-32287 A Franklin County Children Services caseworker called and reported an allegation involving a father who had sexually assaulted his 2 year old daughter. Patient medical records for treatment at Netcare and Dublin Springs Psychiatric Hospital were obtained with court orders to verify as much investigative information as possible. The suspect was interviewed upon release from psychiatric treatment and confessed to sexually assaulting his daughter. He was subsequently indicted for three counts of Gross Sexual Imposition.

 16-28921 This case involves a man scamming his ex-girlfriend out of $17,363.00 through two transactions. He deceived her by convincing her that he had foundation work completed on a home she owned so that it could be sold; she sold the home and he convinced both realtors that the home foundation was repaired correcting a water damage threat. He then convinced her that he purchased a home in North Carolina through a sheriff's auction and that he physically went to inspect and found that the heat pump needed repaired/replaced. He asked for a $14K loan to cover the cost, but never used any of the funds for what he convinced her they were needed for. The investigation revealed that neither the foundation repair nor the purchase of the home actually occurred. The case is currently in the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office for Grand Jury review. The loss to victim was more than the listed amount above.

Detective Bureau

Patrol Bureau

The patrol bureau is the largest bureau of the Westerville Division of Police and is responsible for responding to emergency calls, calls for service, and traffic crashes, while also proactively patrolling neighborhoods, business districts, school zones, and parks within the city of Westerville. The patrol bureau is very committed to providing excellent services in all of those areas. The bureau is comprised of 35 Officers, 9 Supervisors, and an Administrative Secretary. The bureau's officers work twenty-four hours a day, 365 day a year for the citizens of Westerville. We all are very committed to preventing and reducing crime and providing assistance to those in need. Lieutenant Tracey Myers One of my major concerns during 2016 were the increasing number of attacks on officers in the United States. In 2016, 142 officers were killed in the line of duty. That was an increase from 2015 where 130 officers were killed in the line of duty. The alarming part was the increase in the killing of officers by gunfire. In 2015, 39 officers were killed by gunfire. That number increased by 60% to 64 officers killed Mission of the Bureau by gunfire in 2016. In the early part of 2016 Central Ohio was not immune to this violence against police officers. On January 17, 2016 Danville Police Officer Thomas Cottrell Jr. was killed by gunfire while Our Mission is to prevent and detect leaving his police station in the Village of Danville. This was one of crime. We will do anything legally the first ambush attacks of 2016. Then on April 12th, 2016, possible to bring criminals to Columbus Police Officer Steven Smith was killed by gunfire during a justice. We will defend the citizens SWAT call-out. These were tragic events that devastated families and communities. With that as a backdrop, our in-service training this we are sworn to protect. year included many scenarios where officers had to engage with a violent suspect. This training focused a lot on finding good cover and relying on training and tactics to resolve the situation. As 2016 progressed, the United States saw 21 more ambush style killings of police officers. Most of these occurred during traffic stops, so we took measures to increase the safety of officers while on traffic stops. We will continue to train and develop new tactics to keep our citizens and officers safe. The patrol bureau will not stop confronting the criminals that threaten the safety of the people and property of the City of Westerville.

Patrol Bureau

The Patrol Bureau is made up of three shifts. First Shift Officers work from 6:00 am to 2:00pm, Second Shift from 2:00pm to 10:00pm 1st Shift and Third Shift from 10:00pm to 6:00am. Each shift’s supervisors work closely together to ensure pertinent information is passed along to the oncoming shift by means of a daily briefing sheet. Each shift Patrol conducts a roll call at the beginning of the shift to brief officers on information and hand out daily assignments. All of the shifts operate by standard operating procedures, but each shift is different in how it serves the community. First shift responds to all calls for service and is also very traffic oriented. Residents are 1st Shift Leadership typically at work or traveling to and from work during shift hours and officers have been tasked with maintaining a safe traffic environment Sergeant Anthony Rudd through proactive traffic enforcement measures. These measures Corporal Jack Johnson include school zone enforcement, monitoring traffic safety during Corporal Greg Franey road construction, addressing citizen traffic complaints, speed enforcement and any other traffic safety issues brought to our Personnel attention. 1st Shift Personnel: Three While traffic enforcement is a high priority, officers are also well supervisors and eleven officers, an aware of the need to patrol neighborhoods and business districts for officer assigned to the uptown signs of criminal activity. The officers also respond to citizen district, and a court liaison. complaints and requests for service. They also monitor radio traffic from other police agencies and our fire department to assist when needed.

Patrol Bureau

A recent example of this was highlighted when Officer Carrie O’Neil and Officer Gary Allen overheard an emergency call being broadcast 1st Shift to the Westerville Fire Department about a vehicle that had driven into a pond near a Bob Evans restaurant located at State Route 3 and Polaris Pkwy. Both officers were nearby and immediately Patrol responded to the scene. Upon their arrival, they observed two elderly citizens, who were panicking and clinging to their vehicle in the middle of the pond. Officer O’Neil swam to their vehicle and was able to calm them and keep them from slipping under the water while the fire personnel began rescue measures. As a result, both officers received awards for their actions. Another highlight involved the actions of Corporal Greg Franey and Officer Dan Betts on July 16th. On a mutual aid call from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Corporal Franey and Officer Betts responded to the area of Hoover Dam on an “Aid & Assist” call. The caller had called the Sheriff’s Office to report a dead body near the Dam. The officers were close and responded to the area searching for the caller. Using caution, they were able to surmise that the caller was actually going to attempt suicide and was in possession of a shotgun. Utilizing their Critical Incident skills (CIT), they were able to talk the victim into surrendering and seeking help rather than the deadly alternative. Although these are brief examples of heroic actions, they are simply Officer Carrie O’Neil an example of what all the officers might face on a daily basis. An officer never knows what the day may bring and must be prepared for all scenarios. Congratulations to all officers for making 2016 a successful year.

Patrol Bureau

2nd Shift For the year, 2nd Shift investigated more than 500 traffic accidents and made 29 OVI arrests. More than 20,000 dispatched incidents were assigned, resulting in 1007 offense reports and 691 arrests. Patrol In April, officers responded to an injury accident where an intoxicated driver was trying to leave the scene. The juvenile suspect purposely rammed a witness’s vehicle as the suspect tried to escape. Arriving officers were able to stop him before he could endanger anyone else and arrested him. 2nd Shift Leadership In May, a neighboring agency asked for our assistance in locating the suspect out of a stabbing in their jurisdiction. 2nd Shift officers Sergeant Brian Spoon responded to a residence known to be frequented by the suspect Corporal Jesse Hibbitt and were able to safely take her into custody. Corporal Greg LeValley In September, 2nd Shift officers teamed with 3rd Shift and other area agencies to work an OVI checkpoint with the Franklin County Personnel DUI Task Force. As a result, one person was arrested for OVI, eight were charged with misdemeanor drug offenses, one was charged 2nd Shift Personnel: Three with a felony drug offense, and eight were charged with driving supervisors and twelve officers were without a license. assigned to the shift in 2016.

Patrol Bureau

In December, officers responded to the report of a male pedestrian harassing a motorist at an intersection. When officers arrived, they Mission Focus found the male attacking a total stranger inside of her car and trying to pull her out. The suspect resisted officers and fled on foot when they tried to arrest him. He was caught a short distance away and 2nd Shift operates from 2pm to charged with several felony offenses. 10pm and typically accounts for 48- In addition to these events, officers investigated a number of retail 54% of the total calls for service theft investigations, including many comprised of organized groups from month to month. As the specifically targeting individual stores. They worked in tandem with busiest shift, 2nd Shift officers are neighboring agencies and shared intelligence, understanding that asked to answer a great variety of these suspects don’t stop at jurisdictional borders; rather, they calls, to include incidents of commit crimes in many different communities, often in the same day. domestic violence, theft, drug This interagency cooperation has led to the identification and crimes, traffic crashes, and many apprehension of scores of thieves once active in our region. more. When not responding to calls, 2nd Shift officers split their time Finally, as with nearly every Ohio community, Westerville is not between high-visibility enforcement immune to the threat posed by the opiate epidemic. 2nd Shift (HVE), targeted enforcement of officers, along with all other shifts and several bureaus within the problem areas, and preventive patrol department, have been trained to deploy Naloxone (Narcan) to in residential and business districts. patients suffering from an apparent opiate overdose and carry the drug with them on patrol.

Patrol Bureau

This past year saw a variety of activity on 3rd Shift ranging from routine dispatched calls to criminal investigations to community service details. 3rd Shift Officers also focused on career development training as well as fulfilled annual in-service and continuing education requirements. Patrol Shift personnel were involved in a variety of calls for service ranging from routine traffic complaints to potential crime trends such as thefts from vehicles. Regardless of the type of complaint or call, the shift worked diligently to bring them to a resolution through an effective and efficient police response, proactive crime prevention efforts, and comprehensive follow-up investigations that yielded the identification and apprehension of 3rd Shift Leadership numerous suspects. A couple noteworthy examples included the apprehension of individuals committing burglaries and breaking into Sergeant Doug Stephens vehicles. Retail thefts initially saw a spike in activity, but were quelled by Corporal Justin Alloway officers’ proactive efforts in the areas of business contacts, foot patrol, and Corporal Aaron Dickison the investigation of suspicious people and vehicles. An increased focus on traffic enforcement in the area of 24 hour retail establishments also Personnel assisted in discouraging criminal activity, theft or otherwise. Shift personnel also focused efforts on decreasing impaired driving, both 3rd Shift Personnel: Three individually on the shift and through partnership with the Franklin County supervisors and twelve officers were assigned to the DUI Task Force in conducting a sobriety checkpoint. Numerous outside shift in 2016. agencies also assisted with a variety of mutual aid requests including but not limited to additional staffing on calls for service, drug recognition expert (DRE) evaluations, and K-9 call-outs. Shift personnel also dedicated time and efforts to community service functions, training/instruction, career development and continuing education, and select speaking engagements. These activities focused primarily on safety and security, drug identification and recognition, leadership, and career advancement. Target audiences ranged from school-aged children to professional organizations to universities to other law enforcement agencies. A number of shift members also assisted with in-house community service functions to include the Citizen Police Academy, Youth Police Academy, Explorer Program, and Cops and Kids’ Day.

Patrol Bureau

Training was again a central focus as professional development is seen as essential to ensure we are providing the best service possible to our 3rd Shift customers. Notable educational components saw shift members train, maintain certifications, and instruct in topics including in-service, standardized field sobriety testing, drug recognition expert, advanced Patrol roadside impaired driver enforcement, computer voice stress analysis, computer forensics, crash reconstruction, and self-defense for women. Other highlighted training saw personnel perfecting skills in areas that included advanced K-9 operations, tactical medical, leadership, traffic enforcement, subject control, and computer crimes. Notable awards received included Officer Dave Leighty receiving the MADD Award of Excellence for his efforts in OVI enforcement. Other personnel

received recognitions and commendations for duties performed and career accomplishments. While many of these ‘thank you’ notices again came in the form of a simple phone call or email to express gratitude for services performed, they still speak volumes to the caliber of officer and their dedication to serving the customer. 3rd Shift personnel are to be commended for their teamwork over the course of a busy year that brought with it a variety of policing activities as well as some staffing challenges and personnel adjustments resulting from duty related injuries. Overall, the shift worked extremely well together in the pursuit of its mission to provide exemplary police service to its many customers.

Patrol Bureau

This year saw the addition of an “Uptown” officer to the Patrol Bureau. Officer Shellie Patrick was selected to fill the role and act as Uptown a liaison between the Uptown business merchants and the police department while providing parking, traffic, and crime enforcement in the Uptown area. Officer Patrick’s responsibilities include police Officer patrol along with attending meetings with the merchants to better understand specific concerns in the business district. Officer Patrick established new working relationships that have created a positive working environment with the merchants and public as well. Officer Shellie Patrick

 Community Liaison Officer connecting the police department to the Uptown Community

 Maintains relationships with shop owners, businesses and residents in Uptown

 Attends meetings about Uptown events and progress

 Safety talks and Crime Prevention education for meetings/presentations

 Coordinates with organizations for large events

 Conducts Security Surveys

 Coordinates meetings for conflict resolution

 Meets with people from the community to take note of their problems and concerns

 Identify and address issues that are seen in the Uptown

Patrol Bureau

Officer Safety

Officer Dave Leighty went to Canada twice last year to speak about his officer involved shooting incident that occurred in November 2013. Sharing his experience has been invaluable in re-evaluating how traffic stops are conducted. Officer Leighty spoke at the East Region Ontario Provincial Police NCO Conference located at Kingston, Ontario, Canada, the North Region Ontario Provincial Police NCO Conference in North Bay, Ontario, Canada, and the Northwest Region Ontario Provincial Police NCO Conference in Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada.

Below 100 Program Below 100 is a nationwide initiative aimed at getting police officer line of duty deaths below 100 annually. The last time annual line of duty deaths was below 100 nationally was 1943. Westerville P.D. has partnered with the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, Buckeye State Sheriff's Association, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Nationwide Insurance, and the Attorney General's office to train officers in the five tenets of Below 100. These tenets are: wear your seat belt, wear your vest, watch your speed, WIN (what's important now), and remember: complacency kills! Corporal Greg LeValley, Officer Dave Leighty and Officer Justin Hibbitt are division instructors and collectively have trained over 500 officers in the State of Ohio. The goal is to train every sworn police officer in the State of Ohio in hopes to get Below 100 once again.

Patrol Bureau

As a result of 4 fatalities from traffic crashes within 2 years, the Aerial Westerville Division of Police established an Aerial Enforcement Unit in 2010. Aerial enforcement utilizes an officer in a plane working in tandem with patrol cars in identifying and stopping Enforcement speeders. The roadway is marked and allows the officer in the plane to calculate the speed of the vehicle. These efforts resulted Unit in a reduction of speed which reduces damage from traffic crashes, saves lives, and prevents injuries. Due to the success of this program in reducing speeds and reducing crashes, in 2012, several more officers were added to the program to assist as aircraft observers and ground officers. In 2016, The Aerial Enforcement Unit flew 16 missions to monitor traffic on the roadways of Westerville. During these missions, 168 enforcement contacts were generated. While in the air for the speed enforcement, the aircraft has also assisted with aerial support for robbery alarms, thefts with fleeing suspects and has assisted other agencies when a subject fled from a traffic stop.

Legal speed limit 45mph

Patrol Bureau

Franklin County DUI Task Force

The Franklin County DUI Task Force was formed to identify and assess the impaired driving problem in Franklin County and to develop an action plan that incorporates both enforcement and education to address the issue. Over the past years, the Task Force has developed highly visible enforcement activities in the form of sobriety checkpoints and county-wide DUI patrols. We understand that enforcement activities, when associated with holidays or special events, are a great deterrent to drinking and driving. The Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) and Ohio Traffic Safety Office utilizes federal grant money to fund the county-wide task force. Currently the Task Force is made up of all 31 law enforcement agencies and 6 support groups such as, MADD, Franklin County Municipal Court, Safe Communities, the Franklin County Engineer's Office and Traffic and Public Safety organizations. The Westerville Division of Police is an active participant and a dedicated partner in the fight against impaired driving. A total of 291 impaired driving citations were issued within the city of Westerville in 2015. These numbers suggest that strict enforcement and a united effort on the part of the task force members have a significant impact on impaired driving related deaths.

Participating agencies

 Bexley Police  Gahanna Police  Ohio Department of Public Safety

 Blendon Township Police  Grandview Heights Police  Ohio Hispanic Coalition

 Brice Police  Grant Medical Center Injury Prevention  Ohio Investigative Unit

 Clinton Township Police  Grove City Police  Ohio State Highway Patrol

 Columbus Airport Police  Groveport Police  Ohio State University Police

 Columbus Public Health  Harrisburg Police  Perry Township Police

 Columbus Police Department  Hilliard Police  Reynoldsburg Police

 Dublin Police  M.A.D.D.  Sharon Township Police

 Franklin County Engineer's Office  Madison Township Police  Upper Arlington Police

 Franklin County Municipal Court  Mifflin Township Police  Valleyview Police

 Franklin County Safe Communities  Minerva Park Police  Westerville Division of Police

 Franklin County Sheriff's Office  New Albany Police  Whitehall Police

 Franklin Township Police  Obetz Police  Worthington Police

Agency Partnerships

Delaware County Safe Communities/ Safe Kids Coalition Accomplishments Safe Kids Delaware County is led by The Delaware County Safe Communities/Safe Kids Coalition is made the Delaware General Health up of community partners who include non-profit and for profit District which provides dedicated agencies and businesses, schools, community leaders and private and caring staff, operation support residents all dedicated to making Delaware County a safer place to and other resources to assist in live. As the lead agency of the Delaware County Safe Communities/ achieving our common goal: keeping kids safe. Based on the needs of the Safe Kids Coalition, the Delaware General Health District also community, this coalition partners with local law enforcement, hospital and health care implements evidence-based providers, fire departments and emergency medical personnel. programs, such as car-seat check- ups, safety workshops and sports The Delaware County Safe Communities/Safe Kids Coalition meets clinics, that help parents and bi-monthly on a Thursday morning 8:30 AM - 10:00 PM, at the caregivers prevent childhood Delaware Police Department, located at 70 North Union Street, injuries. Delaware, Ohio 43015. Meetings allow members to share ideas and stay up-to-date on projects in Delaware County. Membership to the Delaware County Safe Communities/Safe Kids Coalition is free to all members of the community who wish to volunteer their time to promoting safety in Delaware County.

Agency Partnerships

Field The Division’s Field Training unit serves to provide all newly hired officers with comprehensive field training to ensure their future success. The Field Training Unit Training Officer (FTO) program is an intensive 17- week on-the-job education into what it takes to be a Westerville police officer. In 2016, our newest officer completed his final phase of training in the first quarter of the year and has become an active member of our agency. Two new officers were hired in December of 2016 and began their law enforcement career in the police academy. Each will enter our FTO program upon graduation from the Academy this summer. The FTO program is comprised of multiple training phases in which specific job-related tasks are instructed, modeled, and tested. Officers in the program are assigned to FTOs, veteran officers trained Unit Leadership in how to mentor and teach new officers our way of doing business. New officers work in this environment through the first three phases  Sergeant Brian Spoon of the program—evaluated daily—steadily assuming more and more of the independent workload, but always under the guidance of the FTO.  Corporal Jesse Hibbitt In the final phase, the new officer works for two weeks in a “shadow” period, where the FTO assumes no authority of the scene and simply observes officer performance. Once the training is completed, the Unit Advisors new officer is released to work solo-patrol. The FTO unit has adapted the program and its philosophy to the

training of new supervisors in key Division roles through the Field  Corporal Greg Franey Training Supervisor program (FTS). Though there were no promotions  Corporal Justin Alloway in 2016, the Division expects to make a promotion in the first half of 2017. Newly promoted officers will benefit from the FTS program and

the mentorship of existing supervision. Field Training Officers

 Officer Dan Hord

 Officer Justin Hibbitt

 Officer Steve Grubbs

 Officer Dave Lammert

 Officer Brian Gavaghan

 Officer Stacy Kenney

 Officer Jeremy Shipman

 Officer Mark Wojciechowski

Patrol Bureau

The Division’s K9, Fiji, is a five-year-old K-9 Unit Belgian Malinois handled by Officer Bryan Schwartz. Fiji is dual-trained; certified in narcotics detection, area searches, article searches, tracking, handler protection, and criminal apprehension. In addition, she has been trained to participate in tactical Officer Bryan Schwartz operations and building searches. Fiji was deployed a total of 199 times in 2016 Highlights 2016, a number that includes narcotics detection at the scene of traffic stops,  In June, Officer Schwartz and Fiji public or community demonstrations, once again competed in the Ohio tactical operations, and searches for missing persons and escaped Police and Fire Games in suspects. These deployments resulted in the following seizures: Fairfield County. Officer

Schwartz and Fiji took gold Item Amount Approx.Value

medals in Criminal Apprehension Currency $1,029,998 $1,029,998

and Control, Area Search for Crack 3.314g $323.00 Suspect, and Narcotics Search. Cocaine 12.763g $1,275.00 Hashish 134.45g $550.00 They earned bronze medals for Heroin 4.234g $170.00 Article Search and Narcotics LSD 2.935g $40.00 Search-Building. Marijuana 199.55g $1,462.00

 These events draw excellent MDMA 6 pills $60.00 competition, which makes their Methamphetamine 102.72g $3,530.00

achievements all the more Percocet 1 pill $15.00

impressive. Officer Schwartz and Phenobarbital 6.01g $50.00 Fiji are consistently regarded by Suboxone 1 tablet $10.00 their peers as one of the best Xanex 1 tablet $10.00 teams in the area. They demonstrated this once again in open competition, building on last year's success at the Games and representing our agency proudly.

Patrol Bureau

The Delaware Tactical Unit is a multi-jurisdictional SWAT team that was Delaware created to respond to and resolve critical incidents within Delaware County and the region in situations where the risk to the public or law enforcement is great. The primary mission of DTU is hostage rescue and other critical Tactical incidents including barricaded suspects/subjects, high risk warrant service, and active shooter response. The Delaware Tactical Unit is a team Unit comprised of 26 specially trained and equipped police officers and deputies from six area law enforcement agencies: the Westerville Division of Police, the Delaware Police Department, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, the Dublin Police Department, the Genoa Township Police Department, and the Powell Police Department. The team also has an integrated tactical medical component consisting of three paramedics—one from Westerville and two from Delaware County EMS. Team members have years of tactical experience and spend hours training and preparing each month. The team frequently trains and conducts missions with other SWAT teams from around the Central Ohio region. Team members seek and attend advanced training on various SWAT related topics throughout the state and country. Using the knowledge they have obtained, most of the team members have become instructors on a variety of related topics. They regularly educate other law enforcement members on high risk response tactics. In addition, the team conducts numerous presentations and community service events throughout the year. The team sets up a booth at the annual Westerville Cops & Kids Day to interact with and educate children and their parents about SWAT. The team also gives presentations at school career days, various Citizen’s and Youth Police Academies and other civic events. Team members are also routinely called upon to advise and instruct local businesses on security issues that would better prepare them to prevent, mitigate, and react to emergency issues that may arise. In 2016 The Delaware Tactical Unit conducted a total of 21 operations, 2 of them in Westerville.

Agency Partnerships

2016 saw the Division’s Bike Patrol Unit Bike Patrol again participate in various specialty and community service functions in addition to general patrol operations. The unit continues to serve as a great tool for building and maintaining positive working relationships between the Division and the community it serves. The Bike Unit was utilized across all shifts, providing the benefit that officers on bikes have the ability to patrol areas difficult (or impossible) to reach by cruiser. The increased level of approachability of the bike officer has continued to promote greater interaction with the public in instances ranging from routine patrol in the parks, neighborhoods, and uptown to responding to a variety of Bike Patrol Unit calls for service when required. In addition to routine patrol functions, bike officers again participated in the following special community-oriented details over the course of  Sergeant Doug Stephens the year: 4th of July Rotary Run, Parade, and Fireworks; 4th Fridays  Corporal Greg Franey in the Uptown; National Night Out, Bike Rodeo, and the Christmas

 Corporal Aaron Dickison Parade.

 Officer Tony Morelli

 Officer Brian Gavaghan

 Officer Dan Hord

 Officer Dan Williams

 Officer Eric Winters

 Officer Jeff Dixon

 Officer Keith Jackson

 Detective Mike Pavolino

 Officer T.J. Ryan

 Detective Tim Wright

Patrol Bureau

For over 30 years, our Division has had the privilege of partnering with citizen volunteers. In 2002 and as a result of 9/11, President V.I.P.S./ Bush formed Citizen Corps. This formalized volunteer efforts from medical professionals, public safety, and citizens. The concept of Community Citizen Corps is to have citizens assist in natural and man-made disasters. In Westerville, citizens volunteer in many ways. Through our Impact Westerville Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association, Youth Explorers Post, Neighborhood Watch Programs, Chaplain Corps, Pathwatch Program, and Reserve Police Officers, our volunteers have donated an excess of 11,000 hours of community in 2016. Without the help of these dedicated individuals, we would not be able to host many of the community outreach programs we have been known for. On behalf of the entire Division and the citizens in Westerville, we deeply appreciate the time you have given your community.

Volunteers in Police Service

The five Westerville Chaplains combine 229 years of pastoral ministry and 83 years as Chaplains. They all belong to COLECT (Central Ohio Law Chaplain Enforcement Chaplains Team) and are affiliated with ICPC (International Conference of Police Chaplains). In 2016, the Chaplains logged 2319 Corps volunteer hours. Rev. James Meacham, WC-1, (Westerville Chaplain One) Jim has served his entire ministry of 50 years at Grace Chapel Community Church near Galena. He is the Senior Chaplain serving for 44 years as the The Westerville Division of Police first Chaplain for Westerville in 1972. He has also served as a reserve and Fire Chaplains are an all officer from 1973-1983. He became the first Chaplain for the Delaware volunteer force of clergy who County Sheriff’s Office in 2008 and has served as the first Chaplain for serve as Chaplains for the City of Blendon Township and Genoa Township. Westerville. They also assist Blendon Township and Minerva Dr. David C. Hogg, WC-2, (Westerville Chaplain Two) Park when needed. The Dave has served as a pastor in the United Methodist Church for 51 years. Chaplains rotate every two weeks providing twenty-four hour He retired in October of 2007 from Church of the Master United Methodist coverage. near Otterbein College. He became a Chaplain in the Fall of 2002 and became the Senior Fire Chaplain in October of 2007. He is a member of the Their duties include: National Federation of Fire Chaplains and a charter member of the Ohio Federation of Fire Chaplains. He is a 2007 graduate of the Westerville Citizen’s Fire Academy and a 2008 graduate of the Westerville Citizen’s  Riding along with officers Police Academy.  Being available to police officers, firefighters, medics Rev. David Murdoch, WC-3, (Westerville Chaplain Three) and staff when needed. Dave has served as a Chaplain at St. Ann’s Hospital for 17 years. He has  Working with officers to make been involved in a music ministry with his wife for forty years. He has a death notification calls. Master’s of Art in Family Ministry. His ministry has spanned 50 years. He  Working with officers to provide assistance to began as a Chaplain in March of 2007. He is a 2009 graduate of the families for a death in a Westerville Fire Experience. home. Dr. Danny Lambert, WC-4, (Westerville Chaplain Four)  Being called to the scene of an accident or emergency Danny retired from First Baptist Church after 14 years. He has been when requested. involved in pastoral ministry for 53 years which includes serving as a  Administrating and Chaplain at Columbus Children’s Hospital. He has a Doctorate in Marriage overseeing the “Helping Enrichment. He began as a Chaplain in January of 2012. Hands Transient Program” in conjunction with the Rev. Jonathan D. Bull, WC-5, (Westerville Chaplain Five) Westerville Area Resources Ministry and Westerville Jon has been a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America for 25 Police. years. In January, 2015, he became the Senior Pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran  Conducting funerals and Church of Westerville. From 2001-2015 he was pastor at First Lutheran weddings when requested. Church, Bellefontaine. He served for 12 years as the Chaplain for the Bellefontaine Fire and EMS. He is a charter member of the Ohio Federation of Fire Chaplains and a member of the National Federation of Fire Chaplains. He began as a Westerville Chaplain in December 2016. Volunteers in Police Service

Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association

Westerville Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association The Westerville Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association is a WCPAAA Board Members division volunteer unit that has existed since 1999. After graduating from the citizen’s police academy, graduates may elect to become President – Suzanne Larson members of the association. This year, 24 graduates of the academy joined the association bringing the total to 126 members. Of the President Elect – Meta Hahn 126 members, 3,862 volunteer hours were served to assist with 63 Secretary – Kathy Crider different events. It is because of these volunteers that the division is Treasurer – Elaine Domonkos able to offer so many exemplary community programs. The relationship between the division employees and the volunteers is Programs – Susan Fulton invaluable. Publications – Linda Cottrill Monthly meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month in Imm. Past President – Carol Hribar Westerville City Council Chambers at 6:30 pm. Yearly dues are $25.00 per person or $40.00 per couple. Additional information may be obtained by calling the Westerville Police Community Service Department at (614) 901-6860.

Volunteers in Police Service

Citizen Path Watch Watch With approximately 30 miles of pathway in the City of Westerville, the 5 year old Path Watch Program continues to progress. This year, 17 volunteers were able to volunteer nearly 900 hours of their time assisting path users. Each path watch member provides assistance to anyone using the path and reports path hazards to the Parks and Recreation Department, and criminal or suspicious activity to the police. Path Watch members are easily identifiable by their orange reflective vests and their volunteer identification card. Path Watch members must complete a 10 hour initiation course consisting of safety, reporting procedures, and CPR/first aid. Anyone interested in joining the Path Watch team should contact Laura Horton at the Parks and Recreation Department. email: [email protected] Telephone: (614) 901-6512

Block Watch Neighborhood Watch continues to hit record numbers with 48 neighborhoods currently participating, which encompasses 4,800 residents. Neighborhood Watch has also been extended to the business community including banks, pharmacies, and the Uptown District businesses. This program brings residents and businesses together in an effort to reduce and prevent crime in their area. Residents and employees learn how to be vigilant and become aware of unusual or suspicious activity in their area. Every year, watch groups participate in the annual “National Night Out” event, which celebrates a stand against crime in the communities and neighborhoods. A quarterly newsletter maintains communication between police and residents. The newsletter also provides tips and statistics for each neighborhood.

Volunteers in Police Service

Explorer Post #2029 Explorer Post

 34 Explorer meetings. Graduates of the division’s 9th Youth Police Academy have the opportunity to join Explorer Post #29. Several cadets decided to join the Explorer Program. In the Explorer program, cadets are provided  Worked 30 Community Service uniforms and are expected to meet once a week at the police events (compared to 22 in 2015) department. Cadets participate in training drills and are exposed to decision-making exercises. Additionally, Explorers train and compete against other Explorer posts in Ohio. This year, our Post placed first in Fundraisers female physical fitness and second in male physical fitness at the Heart of Ohio competition. In 2016, Westerville’s Post had 28 Chief Paudert seminar fundraiser active members making it the second largest post in central Ohio. totaling $5,460.00. After paying Within the last eight years of the program, several of our current and expenses and the split with WCPAAA, former members have taken active steps toward a career in law the Post received $1,446.73 profit enforcement and other leadership roles in the community. We to purchase equipment. currently have past and present members in the Armed Forces and attending college and trade schools. Some of our past Explorers are even testing for full-time positions with various police agencies. State Competition The post has received several awards since its inception. Our Four months of the year, the Explorers have been given the award of National Excellence through Explorers train for the annual Heart the National Explorer Council for the third year in a row, as well as of Ohio Explorer State Competition the President’s Volunteer Service Award. Cadets routinely participate held in April. Explorer Posts from in community events within the city. In 2016, the post volunteered every part of the state compete in 2,059 hours, bringing the program’s total cumulative hours 13 different LE events (10 as a volunteered to over 19,000. team, 3 as individuals). In 2016, our Post took 1st place (female) and 2nd place (male) in the obstacle course. Although we didn't place in other events, we did score well above average in those scenarios.

Volunteers in Police Service

Reserve Officer Unit

For more information, visit https://www.westerville.org/ home/showdocument?id=628 The Reserve Unit began 2016 with 12 Officers, however, during the year had one officer resign, with the remaining 11 officers volunteering a total of 2408.50 hours, an increase of 49.25 hours over the previous year. Reserve officers are OPOTA certified and subject to the same rules as full-time officers. Most reserve officers have regular full-time employment outside of their reserve duties. The reserve unit has a reserve captain and sergeant. A large portion of the reserve officer’s hours volunteered to the city and the community are at the many city events. Some of these include; Serving our Seniors Day (seven reserve officers) Fourth of July festivities (seven reserve officers), Cops and Kids Day ( eight reserve officers), Midnight Madness (five reserve officers), Christmas Tree Lighting (four reserve officers), Christmas Parade (nine reserve officers), and Fill-a-Cruiser (four reserve officers.) Other duties covered by reserves include all six Fourth Fridays, security at the City Council meetings and community fingerprinting held twice a month. The yearly totals for fingerprinting/ Web Check backgrounds are as follows; total number of 125 people, an increase of 27 over 2015, with the total number of digital prints at 103, as compared to 37 last year. Fill-a-Cruiser, a Westerville Area Resource Ministries and Police Department event partnered to provide for those in need and experienced another increase in the amount collected, with 2000 lbs. of food and 95 lbs. of toys. The reserves meet each month and train in the Use of Force, Taser, CPR/First Aid and weapons qualification. In addition, the unit takes online OPOTA courses and Internet updates on department policies and procedures.

Volunteers in Police Service

The 2016 Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run was once Special again a success. The weather was hot as usual (mid eighties and sunny). Several motorists honked their horns in support. The run ended at Cherri Park Square this year due to the construction around Olympics S. State St. at W. Schrock Rd. The runners included Lieutenant McMillin, Officers Pignatelli, Aspey, and Snyder, and Marisa Akamine. Chief Morbitzer, Officer Jeffries, Marisa Akamine, (she rode AND ran), and Mike Herron rode bikes from Mt. Vernon to Westerville. We raised $130 for the athletes.

Special Olympics Torch Run

 8 employees participated

 We rode approximately 33 miles

 We ran 3.3 miles

 And...we raised $130.00

Community Impact

Polar Bear Plunge

The goal of the Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge is to raise funds for the Ohio Special Olympics games. Currently, there are 7 Polar Bear Plunges held around the state between January and March. On February 18th, Chief Morbitzer led the Polar Plungin’ Police team consisting of public safety officers and citizens. Members of the Polar Plungin’ Police team plunged into the chilly water at the Columbus Zoo and raised an excess of $8000. Statewide, over $110,000 was raised and contributed to Ohio Special Olympics. Chief Morbitzer was the largest individual fundraiser of this event. Next year, the Polar Plungin’ Police will be back at it and we are

always searching for team members to help us support this worthy cause.

Community Impact