February 9, 2011

Dear Residents;

I am pleased to report that Part I Violent crime dropped 20.2% in 2010 as compared to 2009, and is nearly 28% below the five year average.  In 2010, there were 3036 reported Part I crimes representing a 17% reduction in overall crime as compared to 2006, and well below the five year average of 3179 reported total Part I crimes.  Part I property crimes did increase by 5.4% and totaled 2906 for 2010, however, this total is still below the five year average of 2941.  Overall crime rose 3.5% as compared to 2009.  Total calls for service were 37,352.

The Division’s organizational structure continued to evolve given employee retirement, the loss of Officer Chuck Norris, and eight non-sworn layoffs that took effect in December of 2010.  Working with the Labor Organizations, we were able to defer filling positions resulting in one Chief, one Deputy-Chief, one Captain, four Lieutenants, thirteen Sergeants, and sixty-two Officers for a total of 82 sworn and 16 non-sworn.   We continue to operate at well below our authorized strengths of 102 sworn and 38 non-sworn.  Our actual sworn staff is down from 96 in 2007 and our non-sworn staff is down from 26.

Uniformed patrol, traffic, community police, and the detective section now report to Capt. Grogoza, while the crime lab, records, professional standards, technical services, and the PSCC report to Deputy Chief Smith.  Special Investigations, the Deputy Chief, Captain and Chief support staff report directly to the Chief’s office. 

While it is sometimes difficult to quantify preventative measures, this outcome is undoubtedly the combined result of our dedicated and professional personnel, our involvement within the community to include such programs as DARE, PAL, Mentorship and Volunteerism, the Explorers, Neighborhood Watch Associations, the Community Police/Probation/Parole partnership, the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF), the METRICH Enforcement Unit, our School Resource Officer (SRO), our continued use of technology in the field and within our crime lab, and our Crime Analysis and Intelligence Led Policing (ILP) initiatives that identify and target high-crime individuals and locations.

These initiatives are designed not only to reduce crime, but to promote positive community relationships and assist our youth in their transition to responsible adults.  With budgetary and personnel level concerns, these reductions and initiatives are a testament to the professionalism that defines the Mansfield Division of Police. Further, we continue to build upon our analytical capacity to direct resources where they are needed most. The ability to sustain this output would not be possible without the willingness of our labor organizations who have worked with the administration to suspend various contractual benefits as we continue to honor our commitment to the citizens we serve through proactive and efficient strategic methodologies.  These changes have allowed us to consolidate responsibilities and allow for reduced personnel costs while maintaining essential services.

I am hopeful this brief summary of our organization and accomplishments during 2010 will provide some insight on the responsibilities and challenges of the Division of Police as well as the outstanding work of our personnel to improve community safety.  I have complete confidence in the ability of the men and women of the Mansfield Division of Police to sustain our professionalism and commitment to the citizens of Mansfield regardless of the challenges in 2011. 

Respectfully,

Chief Dino Sgambellone