UNIFORM PATROL

The year of 2008 can be characterized as bursting with enthusiasm and energy as the result of 23

(about half) of the officers in the Bureau having less than three years of experience on the job. 

Officers and supervisors throughout the bureau used a combination of hard work, astute observations,

people skills, knowledge of their sector assignments, and a little good old fashioned luck to produce

some amazing police work!  Supervisors focused on the end results, efficiently and effectively using

available resources to target crimes, take enforcement action, and initiate problem solving efforts.

Two supervisors were promoted during the year, and assigned to the Afternoon Watch and Night Watch respectively.  Four new officers were hired during the year and began their field training.

At the end of the year there were 13 supervisors, 53 officers, and three civilians assigned to the

Community Services Bureau, for a total of 69 employees.  With many of the officers in the bureau

younger and new to our department, enthusiasm and initiative ran high and all the shifts were very

proactive in their patrol efforts.

 

Community Services conducted many directed patrol assignments targeted at specific criminal activities

in various locations throughout the city.  We used crime specific reports and mapping programs to

target patrol efforts on identifiable crime patterns, especially precious metal thefts and burglaries. 

We handled numerous serious crimes against persons and were successful in arresting or developing important leads on most of those serious cases.

 

Because almost every police call in the city is initiated within the Community Services Bureau, it is

the busiest and largest in the Mansfield Police Department and it handles the bulk of all police activity,

from emergency responses to minor complaints and everything in between.   

 

Bureau Highlights

Two supervisors were promoted during the year and assigned to the Afternoon Watch and Night Watch respectively, as well as four new officers.  At the end of the year there were 13 supervisors, 53 officers, and three civilians assigned to the Community Services Bureau, for a total of 69 employees.  With many of the officers in the bureau younger and new to our department, enthusiasm and initiative ran high and all the shifts were very proactive in their patrol

efforts.

 

Community Services conducted many directed patrol assignments targeted at specific criminal activities

in various locations throughout the city.  We used crime specific reports and mapping programs to

target patrol efforts on identifiable crime patterns, especially precious metal thefts and burglaries. 

We handled numerous serious crimes against persons and were successful in arresting or developing important leads on most of those serious cases.

 

Because almost every police call in the city is initiated within the uniformed patrol section of the

Community Services Bureau, it is the busiest and largest bureau within the Division of Police. The

uniform section is divided into three sections commonly referred to as a “watch” or shift.   

 

Day Watch—

The Day Watch was commanded by a Lieutenant. Two are also assigned to the Watch. 

Some examples of calls for service by this shift included various assaults including a violent domestic assault where the suspect threatened to kill his girlfriend, ran from the residence and then accidentally

shot himself in the chest while fleeing.  In May explosives were discovered in an empty house on

Hammond Avenue as well as a complex case in which a suspect with a sex offender history had been

trying to lure young children into his car. In June the shift investigated a controversial abduction that

received much family and media criticism and was later proven to be false. 

 

In September a tanker truck rolled over US Rt. 30 and down an embankment, causing a leak of toxic

fluids and necessitating a small area evacuation. In October officers discovered a group who had been

stripping copper wire from an abandoned commercial building on North Main Street.  In November the

shift used information developed from items located in a found wallet to make and arrest of a suspect

wanted in Columbus for an armed robbery.

 

Afternoon Watch—

The Afternoon Watch was commanded by a Lieutenant and two. Examples of call for service activity

include officers chasing a suspect from a car stop who threw a loaded gun over a fence, a suspect who

was using the guise of an automobile repair service to bilk money from elderly people and the apprehension

of several robbery and burglary suspects.  In May officers arrested six juveniles for a burglary and

recovered some of the stolen items leading to charges of Carrying a Concealed Weapon and drug charges. 

Also in May, within 15 minutes the shift effected the arrest of a suspect who had attempted to murder an

83 year old man during a robbery.  

 

In September and October officers recovered 175 bindles of heroin and 16 grams of cocaine from one car

stop and 43 units of tar heroin from another car stop.  During a car stop in November officers found and

arrested a subject wanted on a violent sex crime in another state.

 

Night Watch—

The Night Watch was commanded by a Lieutenant and three Sergeants. Examples of shift activity

include seven serious shootings, two homicides, four stabbings, three fatal accidents and numerous

armed robberies of individuals and businesses.  Night Watch personnel handle most violent crimes

tainted with drug and alcohol use which often results in vehicle pursuits, foot chases, weapons

violations and drug seizures.  In January officers chased a suspect and saw him toss an item; upon

backtracking they found a located .32 semi-automatic handgun and in February a car stop produced a

loaded 9mm handgun and 21 grams of crack cocaine. 

 

The shift also initiated investigations of the robbery/shooting at a local bar and a domestic related

murder on Cherry Hill.  Officers arrested a shooting suspect on W. Fourth Street and developed a

suspect on Mason Avenue stabbing assault leading to the arrest of the suspect.  Additionally officers

handled a home invasion/shooting on Hammond Avenue in October and in November arrested a

suspect in the Pay-Day store robberies.