FAIRBORN — The Fairborn Police Department intends to use newly acquired federal funding to focus on drug manufacturing and distribution within the city.
The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant, awarded to Fairborn and several Ohio cities, provides funding for community policing strategies. The City of Fairborn is focusing on drug manufacturing, dealing, and trafficking.
Fairborn is no stranger to intoxicant-related issues. In 2019, the Fairborn PD made 165 felony drug arrests, and assigned 282 felony related drug cases. Additionally, there were 104 confirmed drug overdoses, including ten overdose related deaths.
“Our department’s approach to address the drug problem within our city will include community policing,” the department said in the grant. “We will meet with citizen groups, businesses and local drug counseling agencies to discuss the drug problem within our community.”
The police department emphasized cooperation with community leaders and members in promoting positive change. In addition to increasing patrols in areas of concern, the department will hold quarterly meetings with local leaders, citizens, and business owners to address specific drug-related issues.
In light of the recent protests, Chief Terry Bennington elected to share some of the challenges associated with recruiting and training new police officers during the June 8 city council meeting.
“In 2019, the Fairborn police did 6,000 hours of training department-wide,” he said. “Each officer, when they’re hired, goes through crisis intervention training put on by the mental health board and community partners.”
The department also completes yearly training on implicit bias and racial profiling.
As part of the grant, the Fairborn PD would increase training on Drug Interdiction and Community Policing for its officers, as well as focusing on training for FPD K-9 units.
The Department of Defense has released an official statement naming Fairborn as a recipient of the COPS grant. However, those funds have not been disbursed pending an official notification from the DoD and acceptance by the city.
