Willard police receive grant from Ohio

WILLARD — Great news for the city of Willard. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine was in town Thursday afternoon to announce the city was receiving a $393,097.78 grant from the Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program. DeWine announced Thursday that 21 local and state law enforcement agencies will receive a total of $8.5 million in grant funding to help prevent and solve instances of violent crime. Also receiving grants in Crawford County were the Crestline Police Department and the Crawford County prosecutor's office. DeWine is awarding the grant funds as part of the seventh round of the program "to help them combat violence in a way that is best for their own communities." "Law enforcement agencies have created innovative and strategic initiatives to prevent and disrupt crime across the state," DeWine said. "Each agency's needs may be slightly different, but they share a common goal of creating safer communities, and my office is proud to support them." Since the launch of the Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program in April, Governor DeWine has awarded $37.2 million to 119 Ohio law enforcement agencies to help them prevent and investigate violent crime through new and enhanced anti-violence programs and improved staffing levels. Governor DeWine will award approximately $100 million to local law enforcement agencies in total. "The best way is to have the local community really decide how the money would be spent," DeWine said during a press conference Thursday afternoon at Willard City Hall. "Part of it is set aside for police wellness ... the other part is to focus on crime, violent crime." DeWine said the grant will be used "to cover retention and hiring bonuses to build up and stabilize the department's workforce." Willard Police Chief Shannon Chaffins said "this couldn't have come at a better time for us." "This will hopefully allow us to offer retention, means of retention, for our current officers and also allow us to hire new officers and bring them into our department. We want employes here who want to make a career of the police department — sometimes we have to get them here first. We want to be able to compete with other departments. "This is exactly what we needed ... we appreciate the governor and office staff for coming her and taking the time to spend with us and tell us about the grant." "This is not a local or statewide problem, but a national one," Willard City Manager Bryson Hamons said. "Losing two or three officers may not seem like a lot, but in a small town such Willard it is magnified significantly. Today's grant is a trememdous start that will help us stabilize our police department so that we may provide police protection that our citizens expect and deserve." Also on hand were State Rep. Dick Stein (R-Norwalk) and State Rep. D. J. Swearingen (R-Huron). Other agencies receiving grants as part of the seventh round of the Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program include: • The Bexley Police Department (Franklin County) will receive $239,628.18 to upgrade its portable radios to eliminate dropped calls and improve communication with neighboring police departments. • The Boardman Police Department (Mahoning County) will receive $628,358.56 to buy ballistic panels and shields, initiate more human trafficking investigations, link victims of crime to available services, and pay for overtime expenses. • The Crawford County Prosecutor's Office will receive $215,217.68 to hire a criminal investigator to assist local law enforcement agencies with case investigations. • The Garfield Heights Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $1,311,936.82 for advanced crime analysis and new technology to help identify repeat offenders and hotspots for crime. • The Grove City Division of Police (Franklin County) will receive $421,200 for technology to capture real-time data to better target problem areas in the city. • The Groveport Police Department (Franklin County) will receive $69,219.46 to deploy technology in high crime areas to more easily identify suspects responsible for acts of violence. • The Orange Village Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $239,689.39 to help gain leads using new technology to identify, apprehend, and prosecute criminal offenders. • The Warren Police Department (Trumbull County) will receive $237,326 to upgrade the mobile forensic capabilities of its Criminal Intelligence Unit to reduce the time it takes to provide investigators with crucial digital evidence. The upgrade will also drastically decrease the number of mobile devices sent to outside agencies for analysis.