ON PATROL WITH ST. MARYS P.D.
St. Marys Police Department Sergeant Luke Turpin Local police departments throughout Auglaize County are tasked with keeping residents safe, while enforcing laws. For St. Marys Police Department Sergeant Luke Turpin, the day starts out by looking at what has been going on during previous shifts. “I come in and see if the off going shift has anything that needed followed up. If they don’t, and if I have time, we usually go through and read reports from the previous couple of shits and see what’s going on”, said Turpin.
Once he’s finished with getting a feel for what is going on in town, its out to patrol the streets. “If we’re not on a call, we’re out and about on patrol observing whats going on”, said Turpin. He said that depending on the amount of calls they’ve received, they’ll also work on traffic enforcement. “It just depends. Some days its call, after call, after call. Some silly stuff, some more serious”, said Turpin. He said that the St. Marys Police Department is a very pro-active department, and that officers are expected to stay busy. “Part of that is traffic enforcement, part of it is general patrol, but the biggest is being seen and letting the public know you’re out there”, explained Turpin. He said that being visible, may also deter criminals from committing crimes. “If they see you’re always out and about, they’re going to think twice, and that’s part of being proactive”, said Turpin.
Turpin said that being on patrol is their most common activity, but that they’re always paying attention to traffic and taking calls as they come in. “Generally we’ll have a few calls. Our busiest time is from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m, but it varies”, said Turpin. He said that the calls they receive are fairly well spread throughout the city. “There are areas where we don’t get a whole lot of calls. It seems like the Southeast part of the city is a little busier, but its spread pretty good”, said Turpin.
He said that the community would be surprised to know exactly how busy they are as a department. “People would be amazed, just the amount of actual reports that we do, the amount of calls”, said Turpin. He said that while there are a lot of reports that, that is only a fraction of what they’re actually doing on a day to day basis. “Those reports are the ones that need to generate a report. Not every call generates a report. You’re talking a few thousand a year, but I think people would be shocked at how busy we can get and how busy we are”, said Turpin.
“Sometimes you’re busy, but most of the time you’re as busy as you want to be. There is always stuff to do”, said Turpin of what he likes about working in St. Marys. He said that while there are busy days, there is always more time to go out and be proactive. “A community like ours, a smaller community, kind of tight knit, is good to work in because you have a lot of support”, said Turpin. He said that people support the police and that the department tries to be engaged with the community as much as possible. “Everybody wants to be involved with the community, especially if you’re from here. You become a part of the community when you start working here, they adopt you”, said Turpin before continuing, “Its a great community to work in.”
Turpin said that what he really enjoys about the job the most, are the people he works with. “I think the biggest thing I like about the job is the people I work with, its a great department, great camaraderie”, said Turpin. He said that working with a great group of people, makes the job a lot more fun. “We always get along. The things I enjoy, I just like being out in the community”, said Turpin.