Local hospital pulls funding for community police officers

Effective March 1, Miami Valley Hospital will no longer fund two community-based Dayton Police Department officers who have served the Historic South Park, Fairgrounds and Rubicon neighborhoods for almost 20 years.

The neighborhoods around the hospital have seen a steep decrease in crime in recent years, and hospital officials say they believe the community-based police program is no longer needed.

But representatives from some neighborhood groups say they fear the loss of the program could reverse some of the significant progress that has made the area safer.

“We in South Park strongly believe that this program should continue and that a decline in the excellent police service that we rely upon will be detrimental to our neighborhood and the surrounding area,” said Matthew Klempner, president of Historic South Park Inc.

RELATED: Dayton’s southern gateway is transforming

RELATED: Project will benefit area around hospital

But the program was not cheap. According to city documents, the hospital was to pay the city up to $654,000 for the program for 2016 to 2018.

“The hospital has fulfilled its goal to stabilize these neighborhoods, and we feel area residents will be well-served going forward by police staffing levels provided by the Dayton Police Department that are typical in other Dayton neighborhoods,” said Mark Shaker, president of Miami Valley Hospital.