From continuing its enforcement of the city’s noise nuisance party laws to updating its field training program, the Athens Police Department has set forth a diverse portfolio of goals for the next calendar year in its most recent annual report.
APD outlined nine goals for 2014, and it can already scratch at least one off the list: purchasing a new undercover vehicle.
Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said he received approval from city council last week to purchase a new undercover vehicle for the criminal investigations unit.
He plans to make the order this week.
Mayor Paul Wiehl said replacing the unmarked car was the first goal tackled because it was the easiest to do.
“It’s about due for another replacement,” Wiehl said. “(The Criminal Investigations Unit) usually has a hand-me-down.”
The department wants to continue its increased efforts with nuisance party and traffic violation enforcement. In 2013, the department handled 53 nuisance party calls — the most the department had dealt with over at least the past 10 years.
There were 2,008 traffic stops last year, too, which was the second highest total in the same 10-year time frame. Pyle has previously stated that emphasis on these areas has led to a decrease in crime as well as a more orderly atmosphere in town.
Staffing
Staffing levels are to stay the same this year and any vacant positions should be filled. As OUPD has recently announced plans to add five officers to its ranks, Pyle has said a beefed-up city police force would come in handy, too.
“The city obviously doesn’t have that kind of budget, because I truly believe if the city could afford to add five officers, they would,” he said in a previous Post article.
Chris Knisely, D-at large, echoed Pyle’s sentiment, saying the only way more officers could be hired is if they had the money to balance the city budget.
Radio
The department is looking to ditch its current radio system and switch to the state-maintained Multi-Agency Radio Communication System, which allows agencies that have the system to communicate with each other.
Pyle noted that the city will save money by making this switch because it will only have to pay user fees associated with joining the system.
“The city would no longer have to own its own license and we wouldn’t have to repair it and pay upkeep and things like that,” Pyle said, adding the system is also more reliable.
He did not mention any costs associated with the switch but noted this idea is in the preliminary stages.
Dispatch Consolidation
The department is aiming to partner with OUPD, Athens County 911 and potentially Hocking College to combine its dispatch reporting efforts.
The consolidation would start with using one type of software as opposed to each agency using a different one. The new software proposed, EmergiTech, allows for easier information sharing between all of the law enforcement departments
“So now, because all three agencies have different systems, we can’t transfer information without printing it out and handing it over whereas if we were on the same system, we could click a couple radio buttons and be able to share things,” Pyle said. “Let’s say if OUPD arrests someone on a Friday night, we would be able to see it the next morning if it was pertinent to what we were doing. Same thing with the sheriff’s office and 911. Kind of a virtual consolidation.”
Neighborhood Awareness
In addition to the undercover car, APD has also achieved another one of its goals.
There’s now a pamphlet providing residents with suggestions for increasing neighborhood awareness.
Pyle said the information is available on the police’s department’s page on the city’s website, ci.athens.oh.us, and neighborhood committees have been made aware.
Updating APD’s Training Program
One goal Pyle said he feels could take a significant amount of time to accomplish is updating the training program for new officers.
The chief noted any significant changes would take a lot of time, and that the idea is still in the early stages because of a higher priority on some other 2014 goals.
@akarl_smith
as299810@ohiou.edu
This article originally appeared in print under the headline "APD plans
goals for year."
