West Chester Township Police Department was founded April 17, 1967.
Prior to 1967, residents of then Union Township were protected by a volunteer Fire Department, established in 1963, and a Butler County police force of individuals deputized by the County Sheriff to cover a beat of several local townships, including our 35 square miles. West Chester Trustees decided to form their own Police Department early that year following the death of Constable William Fisher in January.
On July 9, 1967, a dedication ceremony took place at Fire Station No. 2 in Pisgah to inaugurate the community’s first six police officers, who provided law enforcement service on a part-time basis. Dan Snyder served as the first Police Chief, and residents Lou Fredricks, Jerry Heinzie, John Luckett and Bob Shelley served as police officers. All completed 120 hours of training at the Fairfield Police Academy.
By the end of 1971, the Union Township Police Department was staffed by its first full-time Police Chief Bill Noland and a complement of 12 personnel – seven part-time patrolmen and five full-time law enforcement officers. Five full-time police officers qualified for recognition by the state of Ohio as a full-time Police Department. Population of our community at this time was about 15,000 people.
Then, like now, the Police Department had a 24/7/365 dispatch center to field emergency police and fire department calls. In the beginning, police used the Ohio State Patrol communication system. At present, West Chester Township benefits from a state-of-the-art 911 Emergency Communications Center, with a full-time staff of public safety telecommunicators, that today operates as a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) center.
Around 1977, the Union Township Police Department acquired for its headquarters the 1,500 square foot facility at 8720 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, a building that still stands today. This property, built around 1961, had been used by the U.S. Post Office for two and a half decades before a new 5,500 square foot Post Office branch was opened in its current location next door at 8730 Cincinnati-Dayton Road.
In 1985, the Township Administration Building/Township Hall was built at what’s today the southwest corner of Cincinnati-Dayton and West Chester roads. This facility served as home of the West Chester Police Department and Area III court for a time. Today, the police and court share space with West Chester Community Development and Community Services departments at the Safety Services Center, 9577 Beckett Road, which was acquired in 2002. The 190,000 square-foot, warehouse-style headquarters is situated on a campus of about 23 acres.
Connect with the West Chester Police Department at www.WestChesterOH.org/Police.
Fun Facts
Police Chief Col. Joel Herzog leads a department organized by Administration Bureau, Patrol Bureau and Support Bureau. Services include S.W.A.T., K-9 Unit, Crisis Negotiation Team, Criminal Investigations, Traffic Safety, Community Affairs, Honor Guard and more.
Voters approved a new 2-mil levy in November 2020, generating about $5 million annually for police services.
West Chester Police Department employs about 90 sworn officers and a dozen civilian staff. This equates to about 1.59 law enforcement personnel per 1,000 residents.
In 2022, there were 38,748 police calls for service, a 1% decrease from the previous year.
The West Chester Police Department K9 Unit was established in 1993. Canines are trained for duties like patrol and narcotics. In 2023, K9 Max and K9 Rico serve on the force.
West Chester Police Department has collaborated with Lakota Local Schools to provide School Resource Officers for more than 20 years.
Contemporary crime reports, public safety data and more is available through DIG, an online transparency portal powered by OpenGov. Get started at www.WestChesterOH.org/DIG.
“Foundations” is a series of stories recounting momentous occasions in West Chester, Ohio history. Subscribe to the COMMUNITY REPORT e-newsletter and visit www.WestChesterOH.org/200 to learn more about Township history as we celebrate our 200th birthday bicentennial anniversary.