UNION TOWNSHIP -- Her shirt soaked with sweat from standing hours in 90-degree heat, Union Township Police Officer Lori Beiser works her fifth call in four hours.
First, there was the accident with 10 gallons of spilled diesel fuel. Then, an argument between mechanics, ending when one tossed a firecracker in the other's face.
Next, a fender-bender with a truck carrying sulfuric acid. Then the near-brawl of two moms -- one allegedly wielding a knife. And finally, the theft of a cellular phone from a car in a quiet subdivision.
As the population soars -- and with it crime and accidents -- the strain on the Union Township Police Department increases. Officials can't seem to hire new officers fast enough.
"We're getting busier and busier," Officer Beiser said, sounding her siren and maneuvering through thick rush-hour traffic on the way to the next scene. "A lot of times, we're running from call to call to call."
Last year, there were 60,000 police runs, up from 30,000 five years ago.
SURGING POPULATION
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The number of people calling West Chester home has more than quadrupled since 1970. Here's a look at how it has grown this century.
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| 1900 | 1,743 |
| 1910 | 1,534 |
| 1920 | 1,593 |
| 1930 | 1,988 |
| 1940 | 2,109 |
| 1950 | 2,545 |
| 1960 | 6,236 |
| 1970 | 12,795 |
| 1980 | 23,553 |
| 1990 | 37,894 |
| 1998 | 55,560 |
Source: U.S. Census
and Union Township
(1998 estimated) |
By comparison, the Cincinnati Police Department's 990-member force had 111,137 calls in the first five months of this year.
With more police in West Chester, officers would have time for cruising and "proactive" community police work, Officer Beiser said.
That would include checking on such subdivisions as Twin Creek, where Officer Beiser pulls in for her fifth call of the afternoon. Someone has stolen a cellular phone from the Nipper couple's 1993 Ford Taurus. William Nipper left the car unlocked in the driveway overnight.
"This is the second time we've been hit in less than a year," Mr. Nipper said. Last fall, some CDs were taken from Judy Nipper's car.
The two aren't concerned, though, and blame the increased nuisance on young kids with nothing to do.
Still, they remember the tranquility of 12 years ago, when they moved to their Prince Wilbert Way home surrounded by farms.
"I remember when they burned down the barn, the last thing to go before they built the subdivision," Mr. Nipper said.
The problem with increasing the township's police presence is not money. It's finding the people and training them fast enough, said Capt. John Bruce.
"You can't just go out and hire somebody," Capt. Bruce said. "It takes six months to complete the process, then (about eight months of) training, then it takes several years on the street before they get comfortable."
The growth of officers has lagged behind the growth in calls, he said. Handling those 60,000 calls were 58 officers, up from only 35 five years ago.
The township's ratio of officers to the population -- one to 1,000 -- is well below other communities of similar size and the goal set by the U.S. Department of Justice of 2.2 officers per 1,000 people, Capt. Bruce said.
To keep up, the department has used its $5 million budget to acquire some of the most sophisticated equipment and teams in the area. The township is paying $2 million to hook into a regional communications system that includes putting computers in patrol cars. By the year 2000, officers will be able to file reports, conduct criminal background checks and send messages directly to the dispatch center and other police departments from their cars.
The communication center will be based in Union Township and connect Hamilton, Fairfield, Oxford and the Butler County sheriff's office through five antennas placed throughout the county.
The computers, called mobile data terminals, are in addition to the township's massive upgrade of its computer and communications system.
Aside from its equipment, the township has its own undercover section, a SWAT team, a two-dog canine unit, school resource officers and a traffic safety unit to handle the worst of the burgeoning traffic accidents.
All of the sections developed over the past 20 years in response to area growth and to make the department more specialized and efficient. Still, Capt. Bruce worries that his department won't be as effective while the units remain understaffed. "All the equipment in the world won't matter if you don't have the people to use it."
