CORRECTION: Middle Police Respond to a Tough Year

COURT HOUSE – Middle Township is the largest municipality in the county by land area and second largest by population. Policing the township 24/7 year-round is a challenge of logistics, manpower and budget. Doing so while maintaining a strong commitment of resources to community policing has been a strategy of the township police department and its retiring Chief Christopher Leusner.
In 2022, police calls for service numbered 39,375, up 10% from the prior year. That is an average of more than 100 calls for service per day. It is always a busy time for the 54 officers who maintain order across over 70 square miles of land area that make the township the 11th largest municipality in the state.
Middle Township Police Department (MTPD) released its annual report for 2022 March 1. Crime, as measured by the new National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), was up slightly over 2021, with 962 incidents in 2022 compared with 947 the previous year.
Many areas showed improvement. Domestic violence incidents were down slightly in 2022, DWI arrests declined almost 30%, and crimes against persons dipped. The largest increase was in the category of crimes against property, especially larceny and theft offenses, which rose 20%.
The data-driven approach to crime and traffic safety showed that an increase in NIBRS crimes occurred in the Rio Grande section of the township, where such offenses rose from 241 in 2021 to 378 in 2022, a rise of 57%.
A prime area of activity for the MTPD involves police youth engagement. The efforts stress positive connections between township youths and law enforcement. A major initiative in dealing with youths involves recognizing and dealing with the experience of children who witness traumatic events. 
The Handle with Care effort links police with local schools, so that school districts are aware when children have had exposure to traumatic events. In 2022, MTPD had 178 Handle with Care referrals to local schools.
The department continued proactive police strategies aimed at preventing crime rather than just reacting to it. Through partnerships with local nonprofits, individuals in need are provided access to services to aid with addiction and similar problems.
Community outreach efforts continue to be supported, including activities ranging from Cops and Coffee events to community engagement programs, like the Middle Township Law Enforcement Community Engagement Committee or the newly formed Rio Grande Community Partnership.
Leusner spoke at Mayor Timothy Donohue’s State of the Township address March 1, pointing to agreements that now have former police officers in district schools as an added safety effort following a spate of school incidents across the nation.
Leusner also emphasized the changes that the department has had to deal with in the last three years. 
“There have been a lot of changes in legislation,” Leusner noted, “more in the last three years than in the previous 15.” 
The chief referenced changes stemming, in part, from cannabis legalization legislation, the state’s juvenile reform efforts and the Supreme Court ruling impacting state gun laws. It all represents a constant training challenge for officers and a need to revise and streamline department processes.
A new program from which Leusner expects a positive impact involves more attention to mental health issues through association with Volunteers of America. 
The program will provide police responding to crisis calls with the ability to use Volunteers of America social service personnel as part of the team response. The program is state grant supported and will not add to township funding in the department.
As part of the ongoing, focused response to crime in the Rio Grande area, the police substation will be relocated to free space in the new County Commons complex, allowing the substation to continue its strong presence in the community in an even more visible area.
The annual report covered a year when an unsanctioned car rally turned into a major law enforcement issue and resulted in the deaths of two individuals. 
Leusner pointed to the development of a regional operations plan for what has come to be called H2oi. What Leusner called “the complete chaos” that police had to respond to in September 2022 provoked the development of the plan. 
“If they return,” Leusner said, “we will be ready.”
The full report, with a great deal of detail on police department programs, is available on the department website. 
Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.