ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP — For the St. Clair Police Department, domestic violence and drug related calls stayed the most common type of call they received in 2025. They did not experience any notable differences, spikes or declines, in types of calls responded to.  

“We have been pretty consistent with our numbers throughout the last few years, so there are really no noticeable differences. There might be a handful here or handful there,” Police Chief Brian McKenzie said.  

McKenzie said that while numbers stay the same, the public may notice more activity since a lot of the calls that typically went on in 2024 weren’t documented, making it look like the department wasn’t active, but they are. So, the call volume for 2025 will show an increase due to all calls now being documented. In the past, simple calls responded to like alarms were listed as no report needed. Now those calls and all others have reports filed.  

The department, which is currently staffed with 13 officers including the chief, has experienced some staffing changes in 2025 with the hiring of two officers, three officers leaving the department and one officer out on extended leave.  

As of Dec. 1, the department has responded to 211 motor vehicle accidents, made 172 arrests, issued 351 citations, had seven OVIs, eight juvenile complaints, had a total of 2,818 incidents and filed 2,738 incident reports.  

The department is not fully staffed at this time. McKenzie said the department is short two officers right now and is currently looking to fill those positions. He noted they are in the interview process right now to see if they are the right fit for the department. He said he is not going to hire just to hire and that he wants to make sure who he hires will fit in with who they have now and not have someone just to answer a call.  

“It’s a nationwide issue finding qualified people to do this job, and we are going to walk through the process and find the best possible fit for the department,” McKenzie said.  

McKenize noted that the department applied for the Cops Grant, but they did not receive it, which he said was disheartening and frustrating, and he doesn’t know of many departments in the county that were actually successful with it. The Cops Grant would have given the department the opportunity to possibly add more officers.  

The department which had two K-9s, Noras and Rebel, now has one due to the retirement of K-9 Noras this year. McKenzie said he is not currently looking for a second K-9, but if all the pieces were to come together, he would consider another one since he believes K-9s are a great resource to the community.  

There have been no promotions within the department this year, but there have been a couple of assignments. Officer James (Jasper) Cannon was recently assigned as the school resource officer for Beaver Local Schools due to the resignation of officer Anthony Savina, and officer Joshua Jackson is currently temporarily assigned to the detective bureau because of an officer on extended leave.  

“Even with the shortfall that we have right now and trying to fill the ranks up, my guys have done an amazing job. I said it hundreds of times, I can’t be more proud of the guys that work for us,” McKenzie said. “We can’t be more blessed in the community that we work for, and we are taking steps to put the right pieces in the right places.” 

McKenzie noted the department’s biggest challenge continues to be manpower and rising costs of equipment.  

The officers have gone through multiple trainings throughout the year, and some are scheduled for training in 2026.  

“You can’t stop getting better,” McKenzie said. “It’s obviously good to get extra training and we want to thank the community for the support, the trustees for the understanding and the guys willing to do extra.” 

Trainings attended in 2025 included McKenzie attending the Ohio Chiefs of Police Conference, the supervisors going to a critical incident leadership class, and several officers attending the Attorney General Conference where they received CPT (Continued Professional Training) hours. An officer was certified in less lethal to instruct the department, and another officer received firearms and red certification. An officer attended and passed field training certification, and multiple officers attended an active shooter symposium. Officers attended the Ohio Tactical Officers Association for Forged and 84 where they learned how to deal with critical thinking. They have also had multiple in-house training including recertifying CPR, Stop the Bleed, House of Worship training and more. 

The department is looking to host regional training at the station in 2026. 

For community engagement, St. Clair Fraternal Order of the Police does a lot in the community, McKenzie said. They recently hosted a toy drive for The East Liverpool Elks Children’s Christmas program and a food drive to help ensure residents in need had food for the holidays.  

Department goals for 2026 include collaborating with Calcutta and Glenmoor volunteer fire departments to look into funding for an upgrade on radios, getting back the manpower, continuing the training and getting updated equipment.  

“My guys are a very resilient group, and they have picked up a lot of time to make sure our residents are protected, and I’m extremely proud of them,” McKenzie said.