BY SHEILA McLAUGHLIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP -- A month after the township's first-ever bank robbery, police say their community has "entered the big time" when it comes to crime.
But with five years of police business behind them, officers in this fast-growing corner of Warren County say that's just the beginning.
"With more people coming in, they're bringing a higher demand and crime rates go up, unfortunately," said Police Chief Eugene Duvelius.
The chief reflected on the past and looked ahead as Hamilton Township celebrated the police force's fifth anniversary with a picnic on Saturday.
Since 1993, the number of police runs made by Hamilton Township officers has increased from 207 to an anticipated 1,200 to 1,500 calls by the end of this year, Chief Duvelius said.
The surge coincides with a population boom. Eight years ago, the U.S. Census showed about 5,000 residents in the township. That figure could be 12,000 to 13,000 by 1999, Chief Duvelius said.
"We have skyrocketed. There are a tremendous amount of subdivisions being approved as we speak," he said. "We'll need a few more police officers -- conservatively speaking."
The township police department got its start Sept. 1, 1993, after more than 20 years of coverage by special deputies with the Warren County Sheriff's Office, Trustee O.T. Bishop said.
At the time, the sheriff's office wanted Hamilton Township to sign a contract for police protection.
The township was forced to provide police protection after residents voted in "home rule," and trustees decided it would be less expensive to start their own department, Mr. Bishop said. So, Chief Duvelius and 10 other part-time officers -- all special deputies under the previous sheriff's arrangement -- patrolled by day in exchange for an hourly wage of $5. County deputies took over at night.
But in 1996, after voters approved a 2-mill police levy, the department went to full-time coverage. Now, with an operating budget of $400,000, the police force has 16 part-time officers and four full-time officers, including the chief.
"This gives (residents) a better sense of security, and they know the response time is cut in third or a half at times, more or less," Trustee Clyde Baston said.
"Nothing against the sheriff's department, but we thought we would look out for our own people."
Lately, the addition of a police dog, DARE officer, educational trailer and plans for a Citizen's Police Academy has given the township police force a citified image.
But the 40-year-old chief, who was reared in the township and is raising his own family there now, insists his department keeps its country charm.
"We are the people's police," Chief Duvelius said. "We want to maintain a small-town identity, no matter how large we grow."
