By By ERIN VER BERKMOES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Niles Township residents have a decision to make on Tuesday, Aug. 2. They will be heading to the polls to vote on whether to approve a 2 mil levy for the funding of the township's police department.
The department currently has two full time officers and five part time officers, as well as a 10 member volunteer force. These officers do the best they can to offer the citizens of Niles Township as close to 24/7 coverage as they can.
According to Wood, in 2004, the department took more than 4,000 calls for service, which don't include items such as ordinance violations. In total for the year 2004, the department took 7,064 calls for service.
During the last six months of 2005, 22 percent of the calls the department responded to were for property crimes, seven percent were robbery and assault calls, 15 percent were accidents and six percent were alarms, according to Wood.
The Niles Township Police Department may offer some services, which residents were unaware of.
The department also offers a service where residents can call with complaints that are going on in the township such as traffic speeding in a specific area. "We know that there are things going on that aren't your typical violation calls, but should be addressed by the department. We hope they will call and let us about these kinds of things," Wood added.
The department also registers residents' forearms, fingerprint young children and provides security at Brandywine High School football and basketball games and at the Niles Haunted House. They are also active in neighborhood watch programs throughout the township.
Wood added, "Myself and the other officers enjoy what they do on a daily basis with their job and they get satisfaction out of knowing they have done all they possibly can to provide the township with their services."
The 10 members of the volunteer service assist the department in many ways and don't get paid for the hours they put in.