Friday, June 18, 1999
Fairfield acting chief job hunting
BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
FAIRFIELD — Lt. Richard St. John wants to get back in uniform. He wants to walk the streets. But they won't be the streets of Fairfield — at least as one of the city's officers in blue.
After a 25-year career with the Fairfield Police Department, Lt. St. John, 48, is retiring. Today is his last day on the force, where he began as a rookie officer in 1974 and worked through the ranks, leaving as acting police chief.
“I'm disappointed I didn't get the chief's job, obviously, but I've been in an enviable position. I've had about every assignment you can have in a department this size,” Lt. St. John said.
“I always feel when something like this occurs the Lord has something better in mind for me down the road. Maybe it will happen tomorrow. Maybe next week. Maybe next year. You just don't know. I do think things happen for a reason.”
Ideally, Lt. St. John said he will find another position in law enforcement — preferably as a police chief in a small department of 10-12 officers where he could spend some time on the street in uniform. A department where he can help guide young officers in police work.
“I've gotten to the point in my life when I knew I needed a change. The ideal situation for me would be chief of some small department,” said Lt. St. John, a lifelong Butler County resident who grew up in Hamilton's North End.
“What I've always enjoyed about this job is the interaction with the public. A chief of a very small department is not tied down to a desk all day but instead is able to work the street and meet people. You get to know people and let them get to know you.”
As acting police chief for the past eight months, Lt. St. John began the two- to three-year process of getting the department accredited by the Fairfax, Va., committee on accreditation for law enforcement agencies.
Only about 18 percent of the nation's police departments — including Lebanon, Forest Park and Hamilton — have met the 439 standards for accreditation. Also during his brief stint as acting police chief, the department began a canine unit.
What he will miss most, though, are his fellow officers and the department management team he put together.
“First and foremost I will miss the people I work with,” said Lt. St. John, who also has taught at the police academy at the D. Russel Lee Career Center and at the Police Training Institute in Cincinnati.
During his tenure in Fair field — the only place he's ever worked as a officer — he has watched the department more than double in size.
When he began, the four recruits hired with Lt. St. John brought the department's ranks up to 26 officers along with six dispatchers and one clerk. Today the department boasts 56 officers, one full-time and three part-time park rangers, two part-time jailers, 10 dispatchers and nine civilian employees.
The city's population tripled during the same period, going from about 15,000 to more than 45,000 today.
“One of the continuing facts of life in Fairfield that was true when I came here and is still true, Fairfield never was and I don't believe ever will be a high crime area,” said Lt. St. John. “We average one or less homicide a year. We experience our share of burglaries and thefts, but our community is of such a high quality that crime is really not a problem.”
Never has Lt. St. John had to use force, even though he's been in dangerous situations.
Once he leaves, Lt. St. John said he and his wife of 23 years, Carol, will take a brief vacation without their three children, Danielle, 22; Jerrilynn, 20, and Richard Jr., 17. After that, he continues his job search.
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