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Try out another way to find updates about Greenhills! We would like to welcome you to our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/villageofgreenhills.

The Greenhills Police Department will upload news and interesting content frequently, including updates such as crime alerts, weather alerts, power outages and much more. Be sure to FOLLOW us on Facebook to receive notifications about the latest news from Greenhills!

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We publish a newsletter Update showing our activities each month, including crime news, general information and even fun stuff.

Our latest UPDATE can be found by clicking here!

To see other monthly reports, click here. Want to receive this automatically every month? If you would like to be added to our MONTHLY REPORT e-mail list, click here. Specify MONTHLY REPORT in your response.

TOP STORIES:

Phones Down!

Ohio's Distracted Driving Law is now on the books. To read about the new law, click here.

2022 GPD Annual Report Released!

After the pandemic finally waned, activities involving Greenhills Police and our citizens exploded. We started with Coffee with a Cop, held our first-ever Open House, played at Game Time with GPD, did Cooking with the Cops and ended with Cookies with the Cops. It was a fun year. Read all about it here. Through it all, we have had some terrific partners here in our community. We thank you all.

Mark Your Calendars for upcoming events!

We have set the calendar for our community involvement activities for 2023. Save this information and mark your calendars for these fun upcoming activities!

COFFEE WITH A COP, Saturday, March 18^th from 10 AM – Noon: Fosters at the Troubadour – simply a discussion with our residents, handouts, and signup sheets available for future events. Coffee, pastries, and donuts will be provided at no charge. Guests may also purchase a delicious full breakfast from Fosters.

GPD OPEN HOUSE, Saturday May 20^th from 10 AM – 2 PM: Municipal Building – Guided tours of our building, police headquarters, and cruisers and other equipment. We will be grilling hotdogs, providing popcorn, and drinks, and other treats. We will have our display board up with photos of department activities, and provide tours of the building and discuss what each space is used for. In the event of rain, we will have our cruiser display in a fire bay. We will provide handouts and signup sheets for future events.

PARK TALKS, Thursdays, Dates to be Set – Picnic Shelter or various locations. Municipal Manager Evonne Kovach provides updates on Greenhills activities, and Police Chief Neil Ferdelman and on-duty Greenhills police officers will also speak. Food and drink will be provided!

GAME TIME WITH GPD, Saturday, June 10^th from Noon – 3 PM: Picnic Shelter and Molloys lot. Starting with a pizza lunch, officers will interact with children from ages 5 to mid-teens, playing board games, card games, basketball, cornhole, and other activities at various stations. Shaved Ice with Tropical Flavors will be served as treats!

COOKING WITH THE COPS ON NATIONAL NIGHT OUT, Tuesday, August 1^st from 6 PM – 8 PM: Picnic Shelter at Molloys. Greenhills Officers and Celebrity Chefs will grill dinner. Shaved Ice with Tropical Flavors will be available as treats! Afterwards, tours of GPD cruisers and Greenhills Fire equipment and apparatus will take place.

HARVEST FEST, Saturday October 7 from 4 PM – 8 PM: Greenhills Officers will be on the Commons with a cruiser for inspection and crime prevention materials will be available.

LIGHT UP GREENHILLS Friday, December 1, 6 PM: In conjunction with the arrival of Santa and the light up of the Commons, Greenhills officers will be on hand to distribute cookies to children of all ages.

DEFENSIVE TACTICS, Upon Request From At Least Six Citizens, Council Chambers. This class will teach residents techniques and methods to keep themselves safe in a real-world environment. The course will be taught by Sergeant Carl Holbrook, a state-certified Self-Defense Instructor. Water and fruit snacks will be provided.

WARRIORS TEEN ACADEMY, Fall 2023: We hope to resume the Teen Academy that was interrupted by COVID, teaching teens how to interact with police officers along with showing them our spaces, equipment, and telling them about us.

ACTIVE SHOOTER, Upon Request: This presentation can be provided to organizations and churches, discussing what a group can expect when police respond to the report of an active shooter, with a discussion of what to do and what not to do, as well as actions that can be taken to “harden the target.” The group must be in Greenhills.

CITIZENS POLICE ACADEMY, Upon Request From At Least Six Citizens: This series will go behind the scenes in the operation of an accredited police agency exploring how the department operates, what equipment is used, and how crimes are investigated and solved, including real interaction with driving and firearms simulators.

Neighborhood safety tips from the Greenhills Police!

When to Keep Your Porch Lights On
There are plenty of instances where it makes sense to leave your porch light on:

When you’re home (and awake). This doesn’t simply alert people to the fact that someone is home; it allows you to see anyone approaching or prowling around outside. Having a variety of interior lights on, of course, also shows that the home is occupied and not the best target.
When you go out at night. You’ll be able to get to the door easier and unlock it more quickly when you get home — which is nice, but also important if someone happens to be lurking nearby.
If possible, combine a porch light with other lights. If you have lighting in your back yard, for example, or by the garage, use those in conjunction with the one by your front door and interior lights. This can add to the appearance that someone is home.

When to Keep Your Porch Lights Off
Despite what many people think, having your lights on all the time isn’t helpful. In fact, it may actually attract burglars. Here’s when you should think about leaving them off:

When it’s light out. Exterior lights left on all day can give the impression that nobody is home. After all, wouldn’t someone turn them off during the daytime?
When you’re on vacation. The same principle applies here — if a burglar notices lights on for several days at a time, that’s a pretty clear sign that you’re gone.

Additional Benefits of Your Porch Light

Neighbors. Having lights on around the house will allow neighbors to observe any suspicious activity around your house. If it is too dark things will go unseen.
Police. Similarly to neighbors, a Police Officers job consists of patrolling your neighborhood. Criminal activity is harder to detect if it can not be seen.
Emergencies. If your house number is located near your porch light, it allows emergency personnel to locate the house easier and respond quicker.

Greenhills Recommendation

Motion sensor lights. Lights with motion detectors not only cut down on cost and make lighting your home convenient. It is an excellent tool to scare prowlers away if bright lights are unexpected.

Catch the absolute magic of the holidays in Greenhills, as depicted in this video of LIGHT UP GREENHILLS, produced by Dana Gagnon of Waycross Community Media. To see it, click here.

11 Easy Ways to Secure Your Home

Secure the doors - 34% of burglars stroll right in through the front door. Lock your doors.
Lock the windows - windows are a common entry point. Make sure they are secure. Ask about glass break sensors.
Light up the landscape - place lights around your front and back yards, along pathways, and near the garage and other outdoor structures.
Set up a security system - professional monitoring can save valuable response time to help protect your family.
Don't forget the garage - consider keeping your garage door opener in the house. That way, a burglar can’t grab it out of your car. And if you use a security code to open the garage, make sure you keep it secret and never enter it in front of delivery people, neighbors, or anyone else.
Lockdown your Wi-Fi network - secure your wireless router, Enable WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) or WPA2 encryption, rename and hide your home network, use a firewall.
Install antivirus and anti-malware protection and create strong passwords.
Eliminate hiding places - lock gates, sheds, and other outdoor buildings.
Add security cameras - this is one home security solution that works as both a deterrent and a means to get justice. You can get security cameras that are part of a complete home security system.
Get a safe - protect valuables.
Use home automation - schedule lights (and your TV) to turn on and off when you’re on vacation, scare away porch pirates with two-way talk through a smart doorbell. Get an instant video feed whenever someone walks up your driveway.
Prevent house fires - inspect current fire alarms and CO detectors to make sure they're working, install new detectors where necessary, check the charge and expiration date on current fire extinguishers replacing if necessary, call a professional chimney inspector before using the fireplace.

How to Protect Your Package

From Being Stolen

Door

Recently, in Greenhills there have been several packages that were stolen from our resident’s front porch. With holiday season approaching here are some helpful ideas to protect your packages from the porch pirates.

1. Track your package. Tracking your package is easy to do and will notify you when your package is expected to arrive.

2. Install a camera. Examples of cameras that are affordable and easy to install: Ring Doorbell, Google Nest Cam, Vivint Doorbell camera.

3. Getting a BoxLock. A BoxLock is a container that you place on your front porch that will hold the packages and can be locked by the deliveryman.

4. Help from a neighbor. Referring to a neighbor that can hold your package until you get home. A great way to keep a package safe especially if it expensive!

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GPD is Ohio’s Best!

The Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police in recent years has been on the lookout for “agencies that shine.” The goal is to share the best community policing ideas for other agencies to see and help celebrate an agency’s accomplishments. Through the help of the Law Enforcement Foundation, the association selects an agency as their Agency of the Month. Selected agencies are then eligible to receive a grant to help keep community policing ideas moving in the right direction through the generous support of the Mark Pizzi Family and with the help of the Columbus Foundation. On August 19^th, Bellefontaine Police Chief Brandon Standley wrote the following to us: “Your agency has been selected as the OACP’s Community Relations and Engagement Committee’s ‘Sharing Ohio’s Best’ Agency of the Month for September, 2021! Congratulations on all of your efforts to serve your community with pride! Please pass along my congratulations to your staff!” Our submissions included the following past and upcoming programs:

Our monthly newsletters to keep the community and its leaders informed of our activities. Included was feedback sent to us by resident and Citizens Police Academy alumni Donna Hadley: “I enjoyed reading your report/newsletter. As usual, it contains many interesting items; however, I especially enjoyed reading the "good news" articles which describe the truly positive ways in which our GPD officers and our residents relate. Bravo! to each one of you;”
Sponsoring a recent contest for our primary students to draw their “Special Person,” and then honoring those persons at a Council meeting with flowers, and the student with a McDonald’s gift card;
Continuing to provide items to residents in need through our Community Fund, most recently a crib to an expectant mother;
Posting videos produced by Waycross Community Media, to include tips on coping with the pandemic (link is here), reading to elementary students (link is here), and introduction of new officers by our patrol supervisor (link is here);
Various community interactions, such as providing a bicycle to a child who had one stolen, playing hoops with our younger residents, delivering groceries, and Cooking with the Cops.

For details, click here.

Congratulations to our officers and staff whose efforts made this recognition possible. They are the best!

Talking with Greenhills!

The latest edition of Talking With Greenhills, produced locally by Waycross Community Media, features Sergeant Tony Patton, our Patrol Supervisor, along with two of our newest officers, Carl Holbrook and Zachary Braun. They discuss what it is like to be a police officer in Greenhills, as well as some of our upcoming events. To check out this interesting ten minute video, click here!

The Greenhills Police Department is committed to excellence, and has regularly been carefully reviewed by professional CALEA assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies and the State of Ohio's Law Enforcement Collaborative. Assessors have found our policies meet their high standards in critical policy areas that include the use of force and safeguards against bias. To see more about the benefits accreditation offers the department and our citizens, click here.

Members of the Greenhills Police Department, in partnership with our citizens, will continue to excel in providing dependable and professional service to ensure the safety of our community.

Free Courses!

Two popular courses have returned that will be both fun and educational:

The Citizens Police Academy includes a tour of the department and general orientation, information about our patrol, drug and criminal investigations, crime scene processing, and personal safety. Participants will take part in a shoot, don’t shoot firearms simulator, drive a cruiser during a pursuit in a driving simulator, and act as an officer in crime scenarios. The academy will begin when sufficient participants have signed up and mutually agree on a convenient time and dates, as well as the length of the program. For additional information click here. For a sign up form, click here.

Real World Self Defense

Our popular four-hour "Real World" Self Defense class is designed to teach you how to be safe in today's dangerous world. There are ways to avoid becoming a victim, and we will show you how. Even if faced with danger, we can show you ways to protect yourself and your loved ones. The class is taught by a State-Certified Self-Defense Instructor, and can literally save your life! For more information, click here.

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Move Over

What is the Move Over Law?

Ohio's Move Over Law is designed to protect the lives of everyone who works on or uses our roadways. The law requires all drivers to move over one lane passing by any vehicle with flashing or rotating lights parked on the roadside.

The original law took effect in 1999 to reduce risk to law-enforcement officers and emergency responders. It was expanded in December 2013 to apply to every stationary vehicle with flashing lights, including road construction, maintenance and utility crews.

What if I can't move over?

The law recognizes that sometimes it is not safe or possible to move over because of traffic or weather conditions or because a second lane does not exist. In those situations, slow down and proceed with caution. Watch for people or objects that could enter your travel lane, and be prepared to stop.

How does the Move Over law differ from yielding the right of way to emergency vehicles?

Yielding the right of way to an emergency responder requires you as a driver to pull to the right-hand side of the road and stop when a law-enforcement officer, fire truck, ambulance or other emergency vehicle approaches using a siren, lights, or other warning devices. You must wait until the emergency responder(s) has passed by before you can resume driving.

How serious is the problem?

Across the nation, hundreds of people are killed or injured every year when they're struck by a vehicle after pulling over to the side of the road or highway. On average, these "struck-by" crashes kill one tow-truck driver every six days; 23 highway workers and one law-enforcement officer every month; and five firefighters every year. Tragically, stranded motorists are also struck and killed.

Can I be cited for failing to comply with the Move Over law?

Yes, and the issue is so serious that fines are doubled. Violators are fined 2 x $150 for the first violation (a minor misdemeanor), 2 x $250 for the same violation within a year of the first, and 2 x $500 for more than two violations in a year.

What types of roadways does the law apply to?

Ohio’s Move Over law applies to all interstates and state highways. It can be enforced by any law-enforcement officer, including state highway patrol officers, local police, and county sheriff's deputies.

For more information on Ohio's Move Over Law and information from our partners with the Ohio Department of Transportation, click here.

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Become a part of our newest crime-fighting tool: our Home Video Camera Registry!

Be a part of crime solving by joining us in working smarter through technology! Greenhills is setting up a Video Camera Registry to solve crimes by using video systems owned by residents and businesses. We have already used homeowner's videos to solve crimes, and by setting up a data base of locations where cameras are present, we can do a better job of catching thieves and other criminals who victimize our residents. To read more about and to sign up to a be a member of the team, click here.

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Having a bad day? Be inspired by Abigail and her courageous battle. Its two minutes of your time that you will remember for a while. To meet Abigail, click here.

Staying Secure While Shopping Online

Cybercriminals are always working to steal your personal and payment information. As more and more of us shop online, criminals see this as the perfect opportunity for them to steal. By following a few key practices, you can greatly lower your chances of becoming a victim of identity theft or fraud:

Choose Trusted Online Retailers

Always shop only with trusted online retailers. That means using a retailer you already know or one that is verified through another trusted entity. If you find a new possible shop to do business with, but are unsure about its reputation, try to find reviews from trusted sources such as the Better Business Bureau. Even though an untrusted site might have the best prices, it is worth it to use a trusted online shop that is known to safeguard your contact, credit card information, and purchases.

Choose Trusted Mobile Shopping Apps

Whether you are downloading a store app to get a coupon, a deal aggregator app to comparison shop, or a reward app that ensures you get points or cash back, it is important to stick to trusted apps from known developers. Unfortunately, fake apps appear in the app stores, purporting to be from a trusted source while other apps exist to capture your data without providing the services they claim to support. You can avoid many malicious apps by downloading your apps from Google Play, Apple App Store, Microsoft Store, or another trusted platform, selectively choosing which apps to download, and making sure you carefully read the permissions and app reviews.

Secure your Device, Connectivity, and Accounts

Keep your devices up-to-date, especially those you shop and bank with – Simply updating the device that you use for conducting your online shopping is a key cybersecurity practice. By keeping the device up-to-date with current patches and software, you ensure you have the manufacturer’s latest security fixes in place.
Never use a public computer when shopping or banking – Using a public computer, like those found at libraries, can expose you to greater risk. It is best to use a trusted home device and network for anything involving financial transactions.
Never shop or conduct banking on unencrypted or public Wi-Fi – It is best to always conduct financial transactions or log on to sensitive accounts via a trusted Wi-Fi network.
Look for the lock icon on your browser - When a site has a lock icon on the browser window, or in the URL bar, it indicates that your communications with the site are encrypted. If you do not see a lock, look for “https” at the beginning of the URL, as this is the same thing as the lock. While not 100%, it reduces chances of using an insecure website for your transactions.

Check out as a Guest

By checking out as a guest, you prevent the online retailer from storing your personal account and financial information. This minimizes the amount of information that could be lost if the retailer is compromised. If you have or need an account with a retail website:

Use a strong password

Be sure to use a strong, unique password. Always use more than ten characters, with numbers, special characters, and upper- and lower-case letters. The longer the better!

Don’t save your payment information with retailers

If you have an established account with a retailer, do not store your payment information with them. In the case of an account compromise, stored payment information may allow a criminal to make purchases using your financial information.

Be Wary of Fraudulent Emails and Advertisements

Look out for suspicious or unexpected emails – A common tactic of cybercriminals year-round is to send fraudulent emails seeking to get you to click a link or open an attachment. When it comes to this time of year, they may make an email look like it contains tracking information for a shipment or a promotion for a store. The link or attachment might download malware or try to get you to enter your user credentials in a convincing, yet fraudulent login screen, so they can steal your password.
Always avoid clicking direct links in emails, and if you receive an email with a tracking number in it, head to the shipping carrier’s website in your browser and copy and paste the tracking number itself into the site.
Avoid clicking advertisements or pop-up windows of any kind – Advertisements embedded in websites and pop-ups have been known to be compromised by cybercriminals to distribute malware. It is best to avoid clicking them altogether. To close pop-ups, press Control + F4 on a Windows computer and Command + W on a Mac.

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The Greenhills Police Department is a member of DART, the Drug Abuse Reduction Task Force. To learn more about DART, click here. To send us a tip, click here. To send a tip directly to DART, click here.

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Beware of Credit Card Skimmers!

Crooks have become increasingly high-tech, and are waiting to raid your credit card accounts through the use of sophisticated "skimmers" installed at ATMs or other Point of Sale devices. For details, click here!

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You.

Yes, you.

Did you text while driving today? Ever? If you did, this message is for you. If you ever have, click here. This message may change your life. No, scratch that. This message may save your life.

Golf Carts in Greenhills!

In 2015, the Greenhills Council passed an ordinance that will allow the operation of golf carts on our residential Golf Cart Crossing streets, with certain limitations.

The restrictions are designed to ensure the safety of everyone on our streets, including those in golf carts. They include:

Golf carts are only permitted on village streets where the speed limit is 25 MPH, which means that they cannot be driven on Winton Road (they are permitted to cross Winton).
The operator of a golf cart must be at least 16 years of age and have a valid driver’s license;
All child safety seat requirements for motor vehicles apply to children under the age of nine. Safety belts are required in the front seat for all. To see all of the items that are inspected as required by Ohio law, click here.
Golf carts must be operated in accordance with all State of Ohio traffic laws in addition to all applicable sections of the Greenhills Municipal Ordinances.

Prior to operation on our residential streets, a golf cart must be registered with the State of Ohio as a motor vehicle and inspected by the Greenhills Police Department. Once a golf cart owner is ready for an inspection and contacts us at 825-2101, an officer will come to the owner’s residence or Greenhills business to conduct the inspection. INSPECTIONS ARE PROVIDED TO GREENHILLS RESIDENTS OR BUSINESS OWNERS ONLY FOR GOLF CARTS TO BE OPERATED IN GREENHILLS. The officer will verify the owner’s valid operator’s license and proof of insurance, and visually verify all of the equipment that is required by Ohio law to be present on a registered motor vehicle. This includes seatbelts in the front of the cart, a horn, taillight and reflectors, license plate light in the rear and license plate brackets, working headlights, horn, rear view mirror, windshield, turn signals, proper steering and brakes, and windshield wipers.

If the cart does not pass inspection, the cart owner will be advised what corrections are needed to pass, and asked to re-contact the department when the corrections have been made. If the cart passes inspection, the owner will be:

Directed to come to the department the following business day where he or she will be required to pay the designated annual inspection fee (currently set at $25.00),
Issued a Golf Cart Certificate of Compliance, and
Issued a Golf Cart Safety Inspection sticker, effective for one year, for placement on the rear of the golf cart.

We are ready to conduct the inspections now and welcome your calls. Once the golf cart has been successfully inspected and issued a sticker, the operator must obey the same traffic laws that apply to all other vehicles in addition to those that specifically govern golf carts as listed above. This ordinance provides our residents with a mechanism to have some fun. We hope all who use carts on our streets enjoy themselves but ask that while doing so, they operate them safely and in compliance with the law.

CRIME ALERT!

We received the following bulletin from

the Ohio Department of Public Safety:

A foreign-based group is hiding information-stealing malware inside Christmas-themed mobile apps. The group appears to be engaged in both economically-motivated Internet Protocol (IP) theft and gathering intelligence which could be useful to governments. These hackers are seeking documents that provide classified data from software companies and government organizations. The malware takes files and screenshots before sending them to a command and control server in Germany. The group is actively recruiting mobile app developers and has been pushing out Christmas-themed mobile games loaded with malware, which connects back to the same IP address in Germany. The malware has already infected approximately 8,000 devices and is designed to steal data from the victim’s devices including contacts, SMS, call records, location information, calendar, photos, and browser history.

Beware of what you and your family members install on your smartphones!

Allow installations ONLY from trusted, authorized

sources such as I-Tunes or Android Play Store.

Greenhills Neighborhood Watch

by Lieutenant Anne Ward

The Greenhills Police Department is in the process of developing a community based block watch organization and is looking to find interested citizens who would like to participate in the program. The block-watch program will be designed to focus on matters that are important to the residents of Greenhills.

The police department will work in conjunction with block watch members to reduce crime, the fear of crime, and improve the quality of life for all of the people that live and work in the Village. If you would like to be a member of this proactive group, you can either call the Greenhills Police Department at 513-825-2101 or apply online. Apply here.

Once the program is underway, we plan to conduct training for block watch members, along with regular meetings. We hope citizens are interesting in joining us to keep our community safe!

The Greenhills Police Department, in partnership with our citizens, will excel in providing dependable and professional service to ensure the safety of our community.

Child Safety Seat Alert

The Greenhills Police Department has issued a good number of citations to motorists recently for violation of child safety seat traffic laws. Our first priority is to the safety of motorists and their small passengers. Here are Ohio's laws regarding infant and child safety:

Ohio’s children are required to use belt-positioning booster seats once they outgrow their child safety seats until they are 8 years old, unless they are at least 4 feet, 9 inches (57 inches) tall.

Ohio’s child passenger safety law requires the following:

Children less than 4 years old or 40 pounds must use a child safety seat meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards.
Children less than 8 years old, unless they are at least 4 feet, 9 inches tall must use a booster seat.
Children ages 8-15 must use a child safety seat or safety belt.

Fines will range from a minimum of $25 to a maximum of $75 per occurrence. A booster seat can be purchased for as little as $15. Don’t wait for a ticket!

The Greenhills Police Department is a member of the Hamilton County Heroin Task Force

First Responders Form Heroin Task Force

First responders from throughout Hamilton County, including representatives from the Greenhills Police Department, met today to announce the formation of a task force to combat heroin in our communities. For more on the story, click here.

Latchkey Kids . . .

40% of American children are left alone everyday. These 'latchkey children' need special help - they're uniquely susceptible to unsafe situations.

To see statistics, other information, and tips for latchkey kids, click here.

For a checklist of suggestions and a resource that you can use to help your child in case of emergency, click here.

In December 2013, the Ohio General Assembly expanded the state’s “Move Over” Law, which requires motorists to cautiously shift over one lane — or slow down if changing lanes is not possible — when passing any vehicle with flashing lights on the side of a road. Its purpose is to protect everyone who works on our roads—including thousands of law enforcement officers, emergency personnel, construction workers, tow operators and many others—and everyone who travels on them.

To learn more, click here: MoveOver.Ohio.gov.

Seat belts are the most effective safety feature ever invented and have helped save thousands of lives. Sadly, one in five Americans fail to regularly wear a seat belt when driving or riding in a motor vehicle. If you "Click It," we won't have to "Ticket" and we will continue to reduce seat belt fatalities on Greenhills' safe streets.

Police Department