TROY — The Miami County Sheriff’s Office saw numerous accomplishments in 2023 that helps deputies to serve the community, a report from Miami County Sheriff Duchak, revealed. The sheriff’s office also has many projects on the horizon for 2024.

Duchak’s annual report on the sheriff’s office is as follows:

2023 SHERIFF’S OFFICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Jail body scanner was upgraded with all new software and electronics. The upgrade offers much more definition and resolution making it easier for corrections staff to locate contraband that may be secreted in body cavities. The project was funded through the jail inmate commissary fund at no charge to taxpayers.

• Purchase of a Bearcat armored vehicle for the Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team. The current armored vehicle is a 1984 model. The new Bearcat has much more functionality and is able to insert personnel into hostile situations safely as well as remove civilians from hostile areas safely. The Bearcat and the Special Response Team are available to all jurisdictions when requested under mutual aid agreements. Funding was through the county A.R.P.A. fund.

• Additional portable buildings for Safety Town were purchased at the end of they year. This invaluable program for incoming kindergartners has been well received by 6 school districts that the sheriff’s office serves. The additional buildings will add to the Safety Town program and make set up and tear down much easier. Funding for the buildings was secured from a grant from the Miami County Foundation.

• There is a nationwide recruiting crisis for the law enforcement profession. The Sheriff’s Office had produced recruitment and retention videos which featured deputies and corrections officers speaking of their profession and the benefits of working for Miami County. Those videos are available for viewing on our website, some social media, and by our recruitment captain when presenting to area law enforcement academies and high schools.

• A Polaris Ranger Utility Task Vehicle was added to the Sheriff’s Office fleet. This vehicle will be used at our shooting ranges to transport barricades, targets, ammunition, and other items used on a shooting range. When not in use on the shooting ranges, the vehicle will be available for use at the county fair, fall farm fest, and other special events. The C.C.W. fund provided the funding.

• The Sheriff’s Office was awarded a $175,000.00 grand from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Corrections to fund a jail needs assessment study. This will be an in-depth study on the current and future needs of corrections in Miami County and best practices moving forward. The study will include input from all stakeholders in Miami County’s criminal justice system, to include, but not limited to, law enforcement, probation, parole, judges, medical staff, hospitals, mental health professionals, substance abuse professionals, public defender’s office, and prosecutor’s office. A vendor has been selected to complete the study which should start in early 2024.

• During the summer of 2023 Miami County added 8 Flock Safety cameras (license plate readers) at key locations in the county. Troy, Tipp City, West Milton, and the Miami County Park District also have Flock cameras in their respective jurisdictions. To date, the license plater readers have been invaluable in many crimes. More recently, the readers were invaluable in assisting detectives with solving a residential arson in Bethel Township. It is estimated that 70% of all crime involves a motor vehicle. The license plate readers are a force multiplier and because of their success, 4 more readers are planned to be added in early 2024.

• The Incarceration Facility was certified as an official State G.E.D. testing site in 2023. In the past, after inmates took instruction to obtain their G.E.D. at the jail many didn’t follow-up to take the final test when released from jail. They will now be able to test within the jail and receive their G.E.D. which should assist them in becoming more employable.

• Successful conviction of Seth Johnson for homicide and arson in the death of Jack Noble in Laura.

• Successful conviction of Brian Mason for homicide in the death of Michelle Elliott in Union Township.

2024 SHERIFF’S OFFICE PROJECTS

• The in-depth jail needs assessment will begin early in the year and should be concluded with a final report within 9 months. The assessment was funded from a grant the Sheriff’s Office received for $175,000.00. The report will be made available to the public.

• Continue with robust retention and recruiting of deputies and corrections officers. In collaboration with the Miami County Commissioners, the Sheriff’s Office will now hire for deputy positions without candidates being required to have their Ohio peace officer certification. In addition to paying candidates’ salary, the county will also pay for the law enforcement academy. Those candidates who are already Ohio peace officer certified will receive a $5,000.00 signing bonus.

• Construction of a new building to house Special Response Team (SRT) vehicles to include vans and the new Bearcat armored vehicle along with other related equipment. The building will be on the grounds of the Sheriff’s Office Training Center.

• The deputies’ bargaining unit had requested to move to a 12-hour schedule. Through negotiations with the bargaining unit and management, deputies started working the 12-hour schedule at the beginning of the year. The schedule is for a one-year trial period to afford the bargaining unit and management the ability to evaluate a 12-hour schedule. To date, the scheduling has gone well. It affords deputies more time off while also having more deputies on duty at the same time, increasing officer and citizen safety and quicker response times to calls for service.