By Jennifer Edwards
The Cincinnati Enquirer

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Traffic fatalities have sharply increased in this community, where police also are dealing with a rash of burglaries, thefts and last week's double homicide at Watkins Motor Lines.

The increase in break-ins and thefts, however, still is lower than at this time in the last two years, so overall crime is down, crime analyst Mike Neumann said.

Police Chief John Bruce agreed, but remains concerned about the crime spurt.

"We had a very good year overall until this month," he said.

To combat some of the trouble areas, some special units have been launched such as a two-officer bike patrol and a DUI task force.

The state grant-funded DUI Butler County task force including West Chester police hit streets last year and is continuing this year. A DUI checkpoint was set up off Tylersville Road on Halloween and alcohol awareness training will take place soon for some West Chester bars and restaurants.

"On the fatalities, we have to identify why they are happening," Bruce said Wednesday. "They have been all over the place. But we have a DUI task force and we are just progressing as we can on those."

So far this year, nine people have died in six car crashes, up from one fatal crash and related death last year and two in 2001.

The most recent fatal crash was Friday on Union Centre Boulevard, when a 17-year-old Lakota West High School senior lost control of his car. He was thrown from the car and died Saturday at University Hospital.

Last Thursday, five employees at Watkins Motor Lines off Centre Park Drive were shot; two died. The suspect surrendered two hours later in Indiana.

The last time West Chester had a homicide was in the summer of 2000; that killing remains unsolved.

While several detectives and police officers worked the Watkins shooting investigation over the weekend, a rash of business break-ins and thefts from cars jumped.

There were five business break-ins over the weekend and 10 the previous weekend, continuing a rising trend this fall (there were 39 in October, up from 26 in September and 24 in August).

Typically, West Chester sees 20 to 25 thefts from vehicles in a month. In October, there were 37 - but last Friday through Tuesday, there were 30, Neumann said.

E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com.