Police

A Message from the Chief

On behalf of the officers of the New Franklin Police Department, welcome to our city! It is my honor to serve as your Chief of Police.

The New Franklin Police Department is a highly professional organization, committed to achieving excellence in all we do. Our goal is to enhance the overall quality of life, reduce the fear of crime, and ensure a peaceful, safe environment for all members of our community. We strive to fulfill this great responsibility by employing a wide range of strategies. We involve our residents, schools, elected officials and business leaders when developing our approach to enforcing laws and public safety strategies, and we choose to work with a positive, can-do attitude with our community partners.

We are very grateful for the overwhelming support of our community. We will continue to serve you well as we work to keep New Franklin a great place to call home.

- Daniel Bickett, Chief of Police

Mission Statement

The mission of the New Franklin Police Department is to enforce the laws of the State of Ohio and to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. Our objective is to protect and serve the citizens of the community by promoting citizen involvement in crime reduction efforts, by providing open and honest appraisal by the Police Department of the concerns of the citizens of New Franklin, by training and equipping our officers to enable them to perform their duties and responsibilities in a professional manner, and by holding the employees of this department to the highest standards of ethics, courage, respect, and impartiality.

Rank and File

The New Franklin Police Department currently consists of the Chief of Police, Captain, three Sergeants, two School Resource Officers, thirteen full-time patrolmen, and one part-time officer who are all supported by a civilian Administrative Assistant. The department's members are committed to serving an area of approximately 34 square miles, which includes not only New Franklin, but also the Village of Clinton, with which we have a contract for services.

Patrol Division

The Patrol Division, headed by Captain Brian Kreiner, is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the uniformed section of the department. They provide the marked police patrol units that are on duty 24 hours per day, in each neighborhood in New Franklin. The Patrol Division handled over 23,000 calls for service, in 2020. Types of calls include motor vehicle accidents, assaults, burglaries, domestic violence, traffic enforcement, residential and commercial alarm drops, criminal trespassing, disturbances, and a variety of other criminal and non-criminal offenses. This division is also a member of the METRO SWAT Team.

Detective Bureau

The Detective Bureau, consisting of one full-time detective and one part-time detective, is responsible for handling a variety of matters, which include preparing cases for trial, conducting covert operations, performing background investigations, following up on outstanding warrants, investigating unsolved crimes, recovering stolen property, processing crime scenes, and apprehending offenders. While a portion of their work includes cases involving such things as retail loss (bad checks,) their primary responsibility is for felony investigations. Detective Michael Hitchings is in charge of the Detective Bureau.

Community Policing Program

The Community Policing Program is a partnership between the residents and the law enforcement agency. It allows the residents to have an interactive role in the policing of their neighborhoods. Officer Jason Tirbovich is in charge of our Community Policing Program.

Over seven different neighborhoods have chosen to participate in our Neighborhood Watch Program, a program which involves citizens working with their local police department, by assisting in the prevention and detection of crime. Residents are trained to recognize suspicious activities and are encouraged to contact the police when something out of the ordinary is observed. Police officers will then respond promptly and will determine if criminal activity is occurring. In addition to teaching residents how to be better witnesses, Neighborhood Watch members are taught various crime prevention tips.

Our Senior Watch Program participants receive frequent telephone calls and visits from the Community Policing Officer. In some cases, these individuals have no family members to check on their welfare. The Community Policing Officer provides these senior citizens with a feeling of safety and security. Also, he makes arrangements to get them the help they need.

One appreciative Senior Watch participant wrote:

"I wish to express my gratitude for the fine service provided by the Community Policing Unit which is so essential to those of us who are in need of their service. It is great to know that someone really cares and (is) there for us if the need arises. I believe (the Community Policing Officer) genuinely cares about those who he visits to check on their welfare. "

Officer Tirbovich is also involved in the Take-Me-Home Program which is a program designed to help in the location of autistic or special needs children in our area.

You can contact your community police officer at email or email.

School Resource Officers

The School Resource Officers are a resource for the administrators, staff, parents and students. The officers lend assistance with daily problems that occur at the schools, including conflict resolution, truancy and safety issues (violence, drugs, etc.), The students are taught to understand the rules and laws, and the consequences of misbehavior. The Department's School Resource Officers are Jason Tirbovich and John Beavers.

The Officers also assist in the educational process of students and staff. Students have received instruction on aspects of law, youth violence, drug and alcohol awareness, bullying, and gun safety. One such program is Escape School, a training program which teaches children how to escape from a potentially dangerous stranger.

In the near future, we will institute the Street Law Program, which provides practical, participatory education about law, democracy, and human rights. The program enables people to transform democratic ideals into citizen action. The curricula offers classes for students, parents and teachers. The program also encourages career fairs and workshops, speeches by prosecutors or victim service coordinators, job shadowing, and tours of the Summit County Courthouse.

The School Resource Officers have carried the philosophy of community policing into the schools. They have been able to create a sense of community ownership of the schools and have been instrumental in maintaining a safe school environment.

Each year, we present Safety City for incoming kindergartners, a program that teaches bicycle safety, seatbelt safety, stranger danger, gun safety, and water safety. Fingerprinting ID is available during Safety City with parent/guardian permission.

Through the Stranger Danger Program, children have learned ways to stay safe by being alert and cautious around strangers. Each year, we participate in the Bike Rodeo, a program which teaches bicycle rules and which promotes bicycle safety.

Also, frequent discussions are held with local pre-school classes to assist them in feeling more comfortable around police officers and to teach them that police officers are their friends. This program also makes them more aware of a police officers' duties and responsibilities.

We often provide our local school children with coloring books, key chains, pens, T-shirts, mugs, etc., as a reminder of our anti-drug message.

Request a Report

Many reports are available in our online archive center. To obtain additional reports, email your request and be sure to include:

• Your name and contact information
• Date and location of incident
• Report Number (if available)
• Any other helpful information related to the incident
  • Reports will be emailed or can be picked up in person by request Monday through Friday between 8 am and noon

Compliments / Complaints

To compliment a New Franklin Police Officer or file a formal complaint regarding an Officer, please contact Captain Kreiner by phone at 330-882-3281 or email.