Tiffin Police Chief summarizes 2024 activity, highlights training, community programs and staffing changes

Tiffin Police Chief Pauley told the Tiffin City Council on May 20 that the police department handled roughly 1,000 more calls for service in 2024 than in 2023, totaling about 12,194 calls, and completed more than 3,500 hours of training.

The chief framed the department’s mission around several values, saying, “Our why is not just a statement, it's a promise,” and adding that “Trust is not given, it's earned.” He reported decreases in overall crime, continued focus on community engagement programs and investments in equipment and technology.

In the nut graf: the presentation was an informational report rather than a council action, but it outlined staffing levels, operational results and pending needs that could influence future budget and personnel decisions. Council members responded with questions about dispatch nonemergency contact procedures and offered praise for interagency cooperation.

Pauley summarized operational highlights: an increase in calls for service of about 1,000; a drop in some crime categories; a 5.3-second average dispatch answer time; and 10 strikes to the viaduct in 2024. He said patrol staffing includes one lieutenant, six sergeants, 15 officers and one school resource officer; the criminal division includes one lieutenant, two detectives and a task force officer; and the communications division has one supervisor and six dispatchers. He described the drug task force’s work in 2024 as including 66 overdose investigations, four overdose fatalities (the same number as 2023) and recovery of 75 firearms through warrants and arrests, compared with three recoveries in 2023.

Pauley also reviewed internal accountability and use-of-force statistics: the internal affairs unit logged 34 complaints in 2024 — one coaching, 13 unfounded, 15 exonerated, four not sustained and one sustained — and reported 32 uses of force that were reviewed and deemed within policy. Of the roughly 615 arrests referenced in the report, Pauley said force was used in about 5 percent of incidents; 25 of the 32 use-of-force subjects were described as white, seven as African American; 31 were male and one was female. He said body-worn cameras were instrumental in roughly 90 percent of internal findings.

The presentation listed program and equipment updates: return of the DARE program after 20 years; a canine team (Officer Liz Miller and Leo) with 78 deployments; purchases including replacement tasers, drone equipment, server and radio upgrades, modifications to laptops for child-exploitation work and a Dodge Charger for the fleet; and projects underway such as e-citations and a soft upgrade to the criminal-division recording/interview rooms. Pauley said the department is pursuing grants for an “electronic sniffing” detection dog for digital evidence searches but would not proceed unless financially responsible.

Pauley noted personnel changes and near-term retirements: no departures in 2024, two lateral hires, and three planned retirements in 2025 (Rob Borer already retired earlier in the year; Doug Skornica and Verne Keefe were named with future retirement dates). He identified recruitment and retention, staff wellness/resiliency and continued community engagement as top goals for 2025.

Councilor Kevin Reisner praised the department’s transparency and grant-seeking efforts. Councilor Erin Jones asked the chief to remind residents of the nonemergency dispatch number; Pauley provided (419) 447-2323 for nonemergency calls. A separate councilor highlighted regional collaboration with Fostoria and the county as a key asset for city response and infrastructure.

The report concluded with no formal council action; it was provided for information and may inform future budget or policy discussions.