911: First Responders in Crisis – Part IV

October 30, 2025 by Emma MacNiven

In honor of National First Responders Day, Oct. 28, the Geauga County Maple Leaf is running a four-part series on the myriad challenges first responders have and continue to face in an ever-changing world and society — ranging from staffing shortages and high-turnover, to burnout and public perception.

The COVID-19 pandemic, low morale and public image challenges caused police officers across the country to seek change in recent years, with resignations soaring to 47% between 2019 and 2022, according to the Police Executive Research Forum.

Similar to local fire departments, law enforcement officials in Geauga County recently lamented dwindling candidate pools and significant decreases in police academy attendance over the past several years.

Much like firefighters and emergency medical technicians, younger generations are seeking more work-life balance.

Unlike fire departments, however, many law enforcement agencies have also been taxed with improving the profession’s public image and restoring trust in the community.

While some agencies, like the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, have held steady in staffing, others have not been so fortunate.

Yet, in various ways, they are all answering the call for change — internally and externally.

Perception Nationally v. Locally

In recent years, the public image of law enforcement has suffered due to several highly-publicized cases of police brutality.

“The problem nationally is that you have one police officer or one person in authority that abuses that authority and reacts the way they shouldn’t and then all law enforcement is painted with the same brush,” said Geauga County Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand.

Social media airs out everything an officer does, added Chardon Police Chief Scott Niehus.

“I think what is happening to us as a profession, I don’t know (if) we’re going to be able to quickly undo the damage that’s been done,” he said, noting it is difficult from a recruitment standpoint to find young people who want to do policing for a living when most cannot turn on the TV without seeing police under scrutiny.

People tend to overlook the “good” officers do, Auburn Career Center Criminal Justice Instructor Stephen Roberts said.

“You don’t see when the officer is performing CPR,” he said. “You’re seeing the — in some instances — damaging parts of the job … and the public sentiment towards law enforcement, for the most part, isn’t very positive. I think it has an impact.”

While Geauga County police chiefs concur a shift in public perception has impacted the profession as a whole, according to statistics, it has not affected rural areas as much as urban areas where there are higher crime rates.

Over 30% of officers in urban agencies are leaving within their first five years, according to PERF. In Cuyahoga County, the crime rate is 705.9 crimes out of 100,000 residents, whereas in Geauga County, the crime rate is 11.5 crimes out of 100,000 residents for 2024, according to HealthyNortheastOhio.org.

“The people that we have that live here are — we don’t have a lot of type-one crimes, serious, violent crimes,” Hildenbrand said. “And the community involvement that our deputies have, not only in the schools, but in the community and the relationship we have with the citizens, I think, is rewarding to the employees because the people in Geauga County have respect for law enforcement where they don’t in a lot of other places.”

“We have a unique culture for our police department,” added Bainbridge Police Chief Jon Bokovitz, who said one of his officers was surprised to see a resident waving at him rather than flipping him off after coming from a more urban department.

“We still have people that will yell at us ‘pig’ and stuff,” Bokovitz said.

However, the majority of the community trusts his officers, he said.

“It’s a relationship,” the chief said. “It’s a relationship that we have … they know us. They trust us.”

Geauga County’s population is also primarily conservative, with, currently, 19,035 registered republicans and 5,154 registered democrats, according to the Geauga County Board of Elections.

Conservatives are more likely than liberals to have confidence in law enforcement, according to a 2023 study done by Gallup — a public opinion poll group — which indicated 60% of republicans trusted the police, while only 40% of democrats said they trusted law enforcement.

While he agreed the public, in general, has turned a critical eye on law enforcement in recent years, Russell Township Police Chief Tom Swaidner believes those sentiments are shifting.

“The ‘defund the police’ stuff (isn’t) as popular anymore,” he said. “There’s been a lot more support as of recent for law enforcement.”

A 2024 study by Gallup showed a slight increase in trust, with 62% of republicans and 45% of democrats saying they had confidence in the police.

“We’ve always had a lot of backing, especially here in Russell Township,” Swaidner said. “We’ve always had great community support, which we’ve been able to see throughout the years with our attendance of those community events. Or even people stopping by and thanking our officers or waving to our officers on patrol.”

Having the community’s trust also positively impacts recruitment efforts, said Chester Township Police Chief Craig Young.

“We’re seeing individuals leaving bigger departments closer to bigger cities that are coming out to Geauga, Lake (County), counties like this that are more pro-police,” Young said. “Ultimately, we’re in a pretty good spot here in Geauga because we do have a pro-law enforcement county. Here in Chester, we definitely have residents that support us and what we’re doing here.”

Hildenbrand noted the sheriff’s office also receives a lot of monetary support from the Geauga County Commissioners, which, in turn, helps his office continue to meet the community’s needs.

“We’ve been very lucky that we have … always had the support of the county commissioners who control the purse strings and the budget for us,” the sheriff said.

Administrative support, as well as mutual aid and good relations with neighboring agencies can go a long way in improving morale among officers and the greater community, as well, officials said.

“We have great support with all of our administrative staff in Russell Township and I think in Geauga County in general,” Swaidner said. “We’ve worked hand-in-hand with neighboring agencies and all (of) the elected officials throughout the county, including Russell Township.”

Community Outreach 

Whether building on trust already earned, or improving confidence that may have wavered, local law enforcement continues to focus on public perception through myriad community outreach efforts.

The Russell Township Police Department kicked off its first citizens academy this fall as an effort to build stronger community bonds and offer an inside look at the department’s operations.

“At the end of the day, we want to develop that relationship, but also show you our personal side,” Swaidner said at the first academy meeting Aug. 26. “One of the reasons why we started our citizens police academy was to help continue to grow that partnership with the community.”

Russell’s police department also offers a coffee with a cop event, inviting residents to join police officers for a cup of coffee and conversation, and the department has created a Facebook page to stay more engaged with residents virtually, the chief said.

“We are able to show the community the different avenues that we’re offering for those outreach programs,” Swaidner said. “The vision is to continue to live by our core values of our agency and to continue to try to provide the best services for our residents.”

Bokovitz highlighted their citizens academy, as well as safety town program, as ways they keep the community engaged.

Safety town educates incoming kindergartners on traffic and bicycle safety, school bus safety, 9-1-1 usage, stranger danger and the importance of police and fire services, according to Kenston Community Education, a recreational and enrichment program that partners with Bainbridge police to offer the program.

“It’s made a very positive effect on our community that they see us as a positive relationship, that we’re not the bad guys,” he said. “We’re out actually caring about people.”

Bokovitz also likes to visit homeowner’s association meetings to connect with residents and improve rapport, he said.

“(It’s important for) our community that they see us … that we’re not the bad guys brought out there, writing tickets and doing all that. (That we are) actually caring about people,” Bokovitz said.

Community outreach is foundational, echoed Young, adding it is one of the reasons he is in his profession and why Chester has a quality police department.

Chester police recently took part in a cops with cones event at ice cream shop Valley Villa and every year, they run a Santa’s sleigh toy drive, which collects enough toys that they send some to Lake County, the chief said.

The department also participates in trick-or-treat events, memorial day, rotary and Kiwanis events, Young said, adding he puts an emphasis on empathy in his department.

“Empathy is something the world needs a lot more of and I think in a profession where you see individuals walking around with guns and all that equipment, just being empathetic on calls goes a long way,” he said.

Student resource officers in school districts have also improved community relations.

“I love having SROs in every building,” said ACC Superintendent Joe Glavan. “(They) keep us safe and also provide that framework for students to develop a relationship, which is awesome.”

The sheriff’s office makes a point to attend a variety of community events throughout the county, especially The Great Geauga County Fair,  Hildenbrand said.

He and his colleagues often stop by local restaurants for lunch and have residents come by to thank them for their service, he said.

“I think that our deputies are all community minded, willing to help — whether it’s an emergency or not — and people respect that,” Hildenbrand said. “They see that and they’re very welcoming.”

Chardon police officers make efforts to regularly connect with the community, as well, Niehus said.

“Our officers are out, we’re interacting with residents and folks visiting our community. Our (school resource officer) in the school, hugely valuable to developing relationships with not only school administrators but our young folks coming up,” he said.

Chardon police offer cider and doughnuts to children after trick-or-treating, an event done via donations, Niehus said, adding the department does National Night Out every August and takes kids shopping at Walmart during Christmas, among other events.

Incentivizing Staff

Size and budget often influence how departments can incentivize candidates to join their ranks.

Those that have struggled to maintain full staffing have been offering extra vacation time and sign-on bonuses, as well as health and union benefits to attract new officers, Swaidner said.

While Russell has not had an issue maintaining full-time staff, the department has had part-time vacancies and increased its pay rate to attract those candidates, the chief said.

He recalled when he was first hired about 18 years ago, the part-time wage was $13 per hour. It is currently over $30 per hour.

Efforts to create a healthy work environment that encourages growth have also improved staff retention, Swaidner said.

“I think that’s providing an environment where officers enjoy coming to work. The job can be mundane, you’re doing the same thing, making the traffic stop or answering this type of call,” Swaidner said. “Providing an officer some growth opportunities both personally and professionally is important for your culture.”

His department also trains part-time staff so they have the opportunity to work their way up and they strive to keep equipment up to date, he said.

“Nobody wants to go and work in an agency that has outdated equipment,” Swaidner said.

Unfortunately, not all police departments have been able to offer monetary and benefit increases to keep staff.

“We are a small department, we cannot offer the pay and benefits of larger departments or departments with better funding,” said Middlefield Police Chief Joe Tucholski.

“Retention is our tallest hurdle, we work diligently to find ways to keep officers here.”

Departments like Chester have been marketing its lateral transfer options, Young said, referring to an officer’s ability to join Chester’s force at a pay rate similar to their previous department.

“I think that’s also attractive to laterals,” he said. “They can come over, they can make a fair wage and have a very pro-police community. We work really hard, our administration works really hard to be servant-leaders and to really entice people to come over and work for individuals that really put the employee first.”

Chardon has made changes to its benefits to improve recruitment and retention, including employee wellness incentives, Niehus said.

Many departments like his offer employee assistant programs for stress management, diet or financial advice, he said.

Most recently, city officials revised Chardon’s civil service regulations to allow for lateral entry, the chief said.

“That’s been something a lot of other agencies have embraced,” Niehus said, adding while it does not completely solve staffing challenges, it does help.

Despite the myriad challenges law enforcement has and continues to face, agencies like those in Geauga County are not only managing to weather them, but are being proactive in their efforts to support one another and stay connected to their communities.

“We have great community support in Russell Township and I think that speaks across all Geauga County departments,” Swaidner said. “We’re a county that I believe values its law enforcement and safety services, and the dedication that it takes to do this job.”