LIMA — After opening four community-oriented policing substations in various parts of the city, the Lima Police Department has now opened its fifth and, for the time being, final substation, this time on Lima’s south side.
The new substation, located at Waterford Townhomes, 524 Hope St., will help bring the community-oriented policing model back to Lima’s south neighborhoods. Lima Police Chief Kevin Martin said that his department was very excited to bring this program to Waterford.
“Each [substation] is just a furtherance of our desire, and I believe the community’s desire, for the police and the community to better partner with each other,” he said. “We’ve got to continue to bring down those barriers, so it’s not about ‘us’ and ‘them.’ This is a tangible representation of our desire to do that.”
Martin also said that the department has no plans to open any other substations at this time.
“However, we are going to continue looking at our crime patterns and where crime is occurring,” he said. “If we see shifts into other areas or other neighborhoods in our community where a substation would be warranted, then we will begin the process of developing more in the future.”
The new station will be manned by Patrolman Cory Noftz, also currently the COP officer at the substation at New Life Assembly on East Kibby Street. Hours for the new substation have yet to be determined.
“Having office hours, I can work on long-term effects, rather than just have a patrolman show up and then go on about their business,” Noftz said. “I want to work on long-term, quality-of-life issues.”
To further the mission of forming police-community relationships, two barbecue events are scheduled later in July and August. The first is scheduled for July 28 at the Maplewood Northwood Apartments on Brower Road, with the second scheduled for Aug. 11 at Waterford Townhomes. Both events are set to run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The events will feature free food and appearances by the Lima Police bike patrols and K-9 units. Allen County Children Services will also be distributing school supplies during the events.
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