MONTVILLE – Felonies are on the rise in Montville Township, according to the 2016 annual report recently compiled by the township’s Safety Services Department.
Police Chief Terry Grice reported his officers made 138 felony arrests in 2016. That’s up from 88 in 2015 and 67 in 2014.
Common felony arrests include theft, burglary, breaking and entering, domestic violence, drug possession and receiving stolen property. Grice attributed the 2016 rise in felony arrests mainly to drug possession cases associated with the heroin epidemic that has been sweeping the state and nation.
While Montville police made more felony arrests in 2016, misdemeanor arrests declined slightly from 572 in 2015 to 537 last year.
Traffic crashes investigated by Montville police were also up slightly from 237 in 2015 to 243 in 2016. The number of injuries reported in Montville traffic accidents was 33 in both 2015 and 2016 but there were no fatalities in any of the Montville crashes reported in 2016. Three people died in Montville traffic accidents in 2014 and one in 2015.
Traffic enforcement remains a priority for Montville police, who made 4,247 traffic stops in 2016. However, officers issued only 895 citations during those stops and issued warnings 3,353 times.
“The department remains proactive in traffic enforcement, which is indicated by the number of warnings issued,” Grice said.
However, Grice said the department takes a more aggressive stance when it comes to drunk driving and made 50 arrests for operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. That’s down from 67 OVI arrests in 2015.
Montville police handle a wide variety of reports which can be divided into three categories: non-criminal incident reports, criminal offense reports and traffic crashes. The department wrote 852 reports in 2016, down from 891 in 2015.
In addition to enforcing the law, Montville police are active in providing several community policing services such as a citizen’s academy, female self-defense training, a school resource officer, and DARE officer.
The department also runs the Medina Community Police Athletic League, the Medina County Juvenile Traffic Diversion Program, and the Take Control Program.
MCPAL is a countywide after-school program in which police officers and other positive role models interact with children between the ages of 10-17. In 2015, MCPAL expanded to Cloverleaf, Highland and Wadsworth school districts.
The Juvenile Diversion Program is a developed by the Montville Police Department to help educate young drivers who have received their first traffic citation. Most law enforcement agencies cite these juvenile traffic offenders, similar to adults, then send them through the Juvenile Court System. The Juvenile Diversion Program, in collaboration with the Medina County Juvenile Court, allows these first-time juvenile traffic offenders to attend a three-hour driving course in lieu of going to court.
The Take Control program is a free advanced driving class that provides young drivers with real world experience in collision avoidance. Take Control is funded by donations from its sponsors, the MStar Foundation, Ehrbar Angels Foundation, Westfield Insurance, and the Medina County Juvenile Court.
The annual report also indicated the Medina Fire Department answered 213 calls in Montville in 2016. A contract between the city and township provides for the fire service and is paid for with funds collected through a safety services levy approved by township voters.
The 213 calls answered in the township included only 18 actual fires. Most of those calls (61) were to assist with emergency ambulance calls.
The Life Support Team at Medina Hospital made 295 emergency ambulance runs into Montville in 2016. That was up from 280 in 2015.