Patrol Division
The majority of the department's personnel are assigned to The Patrol Division. This is not only the traditional backbone of law enforcement, but the most visible as well. These officers provide crime preventive patrol, initial investigations, and answer calls for service. Officers work in 8 hour increments made up of 4 to 6 patrol officers, supervised by either Sergeant Beck, Corporal Simcoviak, Corporal Manz, or Corporal Hartzell. The shift supervisors report directly to Chief Hanny. In addition to normal preventive patrol, patrol officers also perform all manners of proactive law enforcement during their patrol activities, such as traffic enforcement, directed patrols, and foot patrols.
The officers are equipped with the most up to date equipment available to them. The patrol division operates a fleet of Dodge Charger patrol cars and Dodge Durango patrol SUVs supplemented with Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs. Inside these patrol units are laptop computers that access a myriad of databases to assist them in their duties.
Furthermore, each patrol car is equipped with an automated external defibrillator (AED) in the event an officer is the first on scene of a cardiac arrest. Every car is also equipped with traditional police shotguns and more modern patrol rifles. The officers also can deploy "stop sticks" which are portable tire deflation devices used to safely deflate the tires of fleeing or eluding vehicles.
The majority of calls for service originate through Allegheny County 911. To maintain contact with dispatchers, the department utilizes a repeated UHF radio system, which provides radio coverage in not only our communities, but surrounding communities as well. To facilitate communications, each patrol car is equipped with several mobile radios as well as a departmental cell phone. In the event of an emergency, our officers have the ability to speak directly with virtually every police, fire, and EMS agency in Allegheny, Beaver and Butler Counties via radio or cell phone.
The Ohio Twp Police Department upgraded to possess the ability for "silent dispatching" through the use of Tiburon's "Mobile Com" computer system. This is essentially a computer program that facilitates communication through Allegheny County 911 and our officers through laptop computers, eliminating the need for traditional radio transmission.