Public Safety Department Presentation: Chief Alan Hill, Public Safety Director, referenced a PowerPoint presentation and updated Council on the following topics: Crime Statistics; EMS Trends; Fire Trends; Personnel Changes; In-service Training Program; the Citizen Police Academy; Medic 27 and School District Partnership.

Chief Hill shared that the city of Oakwood continues to be one of the safest communities in the area, but Oakwood experienced an increase in reported larceny, fraud and assault offenses in 2022.

In 2022, Oakwood, and the Dayton Region, experienced a significant increase in auto thefts. There were 20 total reported auto thefts and the normal yearly average is one to two. The majority of the vehicles were unlocked with keys inside the vehicle. These vehicles were easy targets that did not require the use of forced entry.

The Oakwood Public Safety Department continues to have very low use of force incidents, which is a testament to the professionalism and de-escalation skills of Oakwood's Public Safety Officers.

There was a significant decrease in traffic accidents in 2022, but an increase in injuries. Most of the incidents involved assured cleared distance, failure to control and failure to yield. The department will focus on reducing accidents causing injury.

There was an increase in medic runs in 2022 compared to previous years, including Oakwood's mutual aid medic run requests to other jurisdictions. There was one mutual aid medic response to Oakwood from other jurisdictions in 2022.

The Oakwood Public Safety Department responded to four structure fires that resulted in damage/loss. The Oakwood Public Safety Department continues to maintain an exceptional fire response time that is well below the national average.

Dispatcher Cheryl Colton resigned on January 17, 2023 with over 12 years of service to the city of Oakwood. Dispatcher Rob Plummer was hired on January 23, 2023. He comes to Oakwood with a tremendous amount of public safety dispatching experience. Rob served as a dispatcher with the Warren County Sheriff's Office for 14 years.

The Oakwood Public Safety Department has a comprehensive in-service training program covering all three disciplines. Over the past five years, the department has averaged 3,603 hours of in-service training annually. The training is done through online continuing education, classroom training and practical training exercises.

In 2022, all certified peace officers in the state of Ohio received 24 hours of mandated training on the following topics: Cultural Humility: Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity; Responding to Mental Health Crisis; Legal Updates; Officer Personal Wellness; Responding to Sexual Assaults and Domestic Violence.

The Oakwood Public Safety Department hosted its fifth Citizens Police Academy (CPA) in 2022. The CPA is a great program for citizens, as well as the Safety Department. The CPA is free of charge, and the next academy is scheduled for the fall of 2023.

A used medic vehicle was purchased in 2022 to replace an ambulance that was experiencing problems with the brake module that could not be repaired. This replacement vehicle will serve as the primary vehicle through 2024, and then will serve as a backup ambulance when a new ambulance is purchased at that time. It is essential to have two reliable ambulances, one serving as a primary vehicle and the other serving as a backup.

Chief Hill congratulated and welcomed the Oakwood City School District's new superintendent Dr. Neil Gupta. The Public Safety Department has a long and collaborative partnership with the Oakwood School District. The partnership includes: annual administrator meetings; daily school zone enforcement; daily building foot patrols; direct access to and ability to monitor school security cameras; DARE program; security services for all home varsity football and basketball games; and other educational programs.

Mrs. Hilton asked why people leave their cars unlocked and/or leave keys in their car.

Chief Hill believes that people become complacent and have a misguided sense of security, particularly in Oakwood. Car thefts are mostly a crime of opportunity.

Mrs. Hilton asked how many state mandated trainings there are.