Protsman became chief of police in April. He spent 20 years with the Lima Police Department, ending his service as a major overseeing investigative services. Protsman said he followed through on his plans to observe for the first couple of months how the department serves this city of about 56,000 people.
“It’s a very professional, community-minded organization, so my goal was when I got here, if that was the case, which it is, is just to build on what’s been going on, what’s been built before I got here, particularly from Chief (Jim) O’Dell,” Protsman said.
Now that he’s more familiar with the organization, Protsman is turning his attention to determining why there is a slight uptick in the crime rate in 2015.
Through the first seven months of this year, 1,732 crimes have been reported in the city. That compares to 1,694 crimes over the same period in 2014.
“We’re just in the process of looking at what’s causing that right now. I would say a big part of that would be drug-related,” Protsman said.
Overall, the city’s crime rate has been decreasing since 2012, with 4,095 offenses reported that year and 3,647 reported in 2014, according to city data.
Protsman said his department’s biggest challenge, like many around the country, is dealing with the heroin epidemic.
“We’re starting to see a little bit of — particularly the transportation of drugs in heroin,” he said.
Protsman oversaw the drug unit in Lima. He plans to dedicate resources to fighting drug-related crime — including adding a second officer to the drug unit and a third K9.
“We’re going to do some training for our officers for observations of that. Obviously we have a drug unit, a VICE unit, we’ll probably bulk that up a little bit,” he said.
Additionally, Protsman is focusing on training and weighing the use of crime-mapping software to help identify hot spots for illegal activity.
Given recent police-involved shootings and strained police-community relations in other parts of the country, Protsman said he wants to focus on training officers in de-escalation.
“If people are wrong, they’re wrong. And if officers are wrong and don’t do the proper thing, then they have to answer for that so our training is going to be a lot of de-escalation,” he said.
Protsman met with each of the department’s 83 sworn officers during his first few months to get their opinions on the department’s strengths and areas that need improvement, according to Ryan Vandegrift, a member of the department and Kettering Fraternal Order of Police #92 president.
“It appears that his approach has been very well received, partly because he has a great deal of ‘buy-in’ from the officers because their opinions have been taken into consideration,” Vandegrift said.
He is supportive of Protsman’s plans to combat the use and transportation of drugs through the area, and said the chief’s plans to consider crime-mapping software would give officers an advantage.
“It would allow our command staff to strategically place resources where the community needs them the most,” Vandegrift said. “Ultimately, it would provide a much more efficient means to fight crime.”
Vandegrift said he’s glad Protsman plans to continue the department’s focus on training.
“Keeping up on training on all of these tools is extremely important for the officers to be able to determine the best course of action and resolve any given situation,” he said.
Pat Cavanaugh, who has participated in some of the department’s community outreach programs including Neighborhood Watch and Citizen Police Academy, said she recognizes the department’s efforts to maintain a strong relationship with the community.
“This week, they had their National Night Out at Town & Country Shopping Center, and they had a huge turnout,” she said. “This allows people to get to know their officers. To see they’re people just like they are, and not the enemy.”
A sign hanging in his office reminds Protsman of the importance of the department’s daily relationship with the community. “Service is the only return the public receives for its investment in a police agency,” the sign reads. Protsman said the phrase was coined by Kettering’s first police chief, John Shryock.
“For us to be successful, we have to have a very strong relationship with them,” he said. “Our doors are always open and we certainly want to hear the problems that they have or suggestions that they have.”
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