Operations Bureau

The Operations Bureau is run by Lt. David Combs. Lt. Combs is a Certified Law Enforcement Executive (CLEE), a graduate of the Southern Police Institute's Administrative Officer's Course and holds a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from Wilmington College. The Operation's Bureau is the largest functional division with a staff of 54 sworn employees. The bureau consists of the Patrol Division, Staff Services Division, and Personnel Division.

Patrol Division

The Patrol Division is responsible for handling calls for service, tactical response to apprehend perpetrators and thwart crimes, strategic problem-solving within the community, and enforcement of traffic laws. These objectives are accomplished through many means, the foremost being through deterrent patrol efforts and response to citizen complaints.

The public calls upon the police to handle a vast range of incidents. In 2022, patrol officers responded to or initiated just under 43,000 calls for service. As a result of these responses, officers reported on over 7,011 incidents involving criminal activity and traffic violations.

Directed or Tactical Patrol Response uses accurate and timely information to predict when and where crimes are likely to be committed. In cooperation with other agency divisions, analysis of reported crimes, and general intelligence gathering, patrol efforts are directed to predicted problem areas. Bike patrol and the Hotel and Motel units are examples of tactical responses that are available.

Bike Patrol Officers are certified Bike officers and have attended a 40-hour Police Mountain Bike School and are members of The International Police Mountain Bike Association. The Police Department has two officers assigned to the bike unit. The officers will log over 100 miles of bike patrol in one month depending on the month to include their logged patrol time in a police cruiser. While on bike patrol, businesses and residences are checked by officers. Patrol by bicycle lends the officer the capability to be stealthy in their approach as opposed to a marked police cruiser and has proven successful on many occasions. This double duty has resulted in many arrests which are logged in our Press Release section of the police department's web page.

Canine

The Union Township Canine Unit has proven to be an effective tool. Officer Dave Perkins and his canine "Kaos" have been on patrol since July 2016. Officer CJ Holden and his canine "Havoc" have been on patrol since July 2018. Both canines are cross-trained to detect illegal narcotics and to search and track people. The canine unit is available not only to Union Township, but other agencies in the surrounding area as well.

Traffic

The agency views traffic enforcement as an important responsibility, intended to protect lives and property. Clermont County consistently ranks among the top counties in Ohio for reported traffic crashes. The majority of traffic crashes in Clermont County occur in Union and Miami townships. Union Township officers investigated over 1,363 traffic crashes last year. Traffic crashes account for 20% of all reports handled by Union Township officers. The agency has four officers that are certified traffic accident reconstructionists to investigate serious and fatal traffic accidents.

Community-Oriented Policing

Officers involved in community-oriented policing assist in initiating, developing and sustaining all township block watch programs, conducting child safety talks, maintaining the citizen ride-along program as well as various other public speaking engagements. Community-oriented police officers are also responsible for putting on the annual Citizen Police Academy as well as the annual Police Night Out event.

Staff Services Division

The Staff Services Division is responsible for the following functions: managing and scheduling all department training; department purchasing; issuing and inventorying of all department uniforms, equipment, and agency-owned property; fleet maintenance and management and police facility maintenance.

Personnel Division

The Personnel Division is responsible for the recruitment of new personnel as well as the training and professional development of all employees.