BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
DAYTON -- This police department now has a detective, a trained canine, a DARE officer.
Sounds like the roster of most any force. But for Dayton's, these positions are new.
In the first year under Chief Fred Hildebrant, the department has also added a program to teach kids karate and boosted its number of officers by three, to 10. Officers have started working with the Brighton Center social service agency to help city youths and are holding the first meetings of the force's new Explorer post, a Boy Scout program aimed at youths interested in police work.
"It's kind of neat to watch all this happen," said Gary Linn, a retired Covington officer who is working with Dayton as part of the Brighton grant program.
It's a young force now, with only four of the officers left from before the new chief took over. The most senior man has been here just two years.
But youth, the chief says, can translate into enthusiasm.
"They like what they're doing," he said of his officers. "They're out there wanting to make arrests, wanting to come up with new ideas. I think I have the best police department in all of Northern Kentucky."
The chief touts statistics, which show an increase in arrests and a decrease in some crimes, as proof the new ways are working. These numbers, compiled by Detective Mike Puckett, compare the first eight months of last year with the first eight months of 1998:
- Felony theft: 66 last year, 48 this year; down 28 percent
- Assaults: 57, 46; down 20 percent
- Burglary: 51, 42; down 18 percent
- Criminal mischief: 167, 43; down 75 percent
- Domestic violence: 70, 37; down 48 percent
"I'm very proud of this department," the chief said. "I could sit here and talk about it all day."
City officials might be able to, too. They made no bones about wanting to beef up the police department.
"Why hide things?" said City Administrator Dan Groth. "People know."
Improving the department is the first step in what he hopes is a turnaround for the entire city.
"We're slowly turning the perception of Dayton around," he said. "Of course, you start with public safety.
"You can't have anything if people don't feel safe here."
