Indian Hill Rangers

 

The Indian Hill Rangers

 

                The Indian Hill Police Department is a twenty-five person department that serves the Village of Indian Hill. The village is located in eastern Hamilton County, approximately eight miles from downtown Cincinnati.

 

                The department, which has a history that is rich in tradition and firsts, was established in 1903 as a private volunteer organization known as the “Indian Hill Horse Rangers”. The organization was financed and supported by wealthy landowners of the area. According to the original Ranger Charter (1903), the organization’s duty was “the mutual protection of the persons and property of its members, against the malicious and unlawful acts of marauders and depredators, and by concerted actions to discourage and make hazardous all such unlawful acts.” A new charter in 1910 changed the name of the organization to the Indian Hill Rangers, the moniker by which the department goes by today.

 

                Once the Village of Indian Hill incorporated in 1941, the organization became a publicly financed police department. Its first chief, Col. Lynn Black, went on to become the first Superintendent of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The department has always been fortunate to be well equipped. The Rangers had the first police radio, radar unit, and breathalyzer in southwest Ohio.

 

                In 1985 the department became the first in Ohio and the sixth in the nation to be accredited by the Commission for Accreditation for Law Enforcement.

 

                The department employs 21 sworn officers, four dispatchers and a civilian administrative assistant. The distribution among the ranks is as follows: 12 patrolmen, 4 lieutenants, 2 captains, two detectives and the chief of police. The patrol officers are separated into four squads, along with one dispatcher and a lieutenant as a first line supervisor.

 

                The following are brief job descriptions for the various positions within the department:

 

                The communications officers (dispatchers) serve as the initial departmental contact for all telephone or radio calls for service. They facilitate the flow of information necessary for the delivery of efficient, effective, and professional police services. Besides radio and telephone responsibilities, dispatchers are required to communicate and record pertinent information utilizing various computer programs. Finally, dispatchers are responsible to maintain a continuous presence at the front desk area providing assistance to the general public and other department visitors.

 

                Patrol officers, as in any small department, are responsible for the usual array of duties. They provide preventative patrol, traffic control, response to emergencies, auto accident investigation, criminal investigation, and assistance to the public on a wide variety of calls for service.

 

                The patrol lieutenants are actually first line supervisors in charge of a squad. They are responsible for the daily job performance of that squad. Lieutenants are responsible for all disciplinary issues within their squad. They are also responsible for promoting training, coaching, and career development of squad members.

 

                The Captain of Investigations is responsible for managing all phases of the department’s operation of criminal investigations and/or special assignments. They investigate all major cases with the assistance of a detective.

 

                The Captain of Patrol is responsible for the daily running of the patrol. All aspects of the department’s operation from patrol to records are inspected and approved by the captain prior to the chief’s final review.

 

                Besides the general duties of each position, each officer including dispatchers and lieutenants are assigned what are referred to as “individual responsibilities”. Each officer is provided the training necessary to perform his or her individual responsibilities. The following is a comprehensive list of all the individual responsibilities:

 

• Criminal Investigation Case Management

• Emergency Response Plans

• City of Indian Hill Emergency Operations Plan

• School Critical Incident Plan

• SWAT

• Special Operations/Unusual Occurrences

• Fitness Program

• Background Investigations

• Color Guard

• Warrants

• Selective Enforcement Program

• Legal Officer Update

• Firing Range Maintenance

• Property Room

• Vehicle and Equipment Maintenance

• Departmental Inventory

• Dispatch System Administrator

• Departmental Historian

• Records retention

• Auto Crash reports/Crash Investigator

• Burglary Alarm Files

• School Liaison Officer

• Intoxolizer

• Crime Prevention Officer

• Use of Force Training: Firearms, Less than lethal, Defense tactics

• FTO Program

• Uniforms

• Crime Scene Processing/Evidence Collection

•  

      For each individual responsibility, the assigned officer is required to complete either a quarterly or biannual report to the Patrol Captain. These reports provide the captain with summaries of the activities for each responsibility. They will include relevant statistics, the progress or lack of progress of programs, recommendations for new programs, requests for budget items, and any other issue pertaining to the individual responsibility. Both the captains and the chief then review these reports making sure that the responsibilities are being performed to their expectations.

 

                The department’s mission of being “Dedicated to Service, Committed to Excellence” is accomplished through an emphasis on community service. Although patrolling, responding to calls for service, and investigation are given the priority they deserve, community service commands a major emphasis of the department’s mission.