Written by Jake Thoman
When I began searching for an internship opportunity over the summer, I wanted to find something that allowed me to round out my education in government function. I sent my application to a local leadership program and I was reached out to by Kelli Crawford-Smith of Cuyahoga Falls. She is the leader of NECCO, which is the department of Neighborhood Excellence, Communications, and Community Outreach. This small group in the local government is responsible for putting on some of the most entertaining events year-round in our area. The small city near my hometown was eager to talk with me as Kelli and I had graduated from the same Holy Cross High School. This immediately put us on a good foot because we had a mutual understanding of each other’s values when it comes to community participation. We got to work talking about my project for the semester and she recommended I work with the police force in the town. In 2022, the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department will be celebrating its 100th year anniversary. They wanted some more information about its founding as well as its growth and progress throughout the years. So my job for the past semester has been to research the department from past to present to create an information campaign to help citizens in the town understand a little bit more about their local police department. Unfortunately, this is a remote research opportunity. I would love to be in person working with the NECCO team and the police department, but I am nonetheless happy to be working with them on this exciting project!
As I am primarily doing research, I think it would be fun to share some of the local histories I have found. The position of town marshall was created in 1836 when a citizen, Sherman Peck, believed the town needed some form of law enforcement. He naturally nominated himself and created the constable’s office as well. The “Marshel” position would be elected by the town council for the next 86 years. The position of law enforcement wasn’t formalized until the town became a city in 1922. It was at this point the official police department was formed and the first chief, Russel H. Duffy, was appointed. Over its 100 years, the city has had a total of 11 different chiefs. As of a 2020 report, the department includes 74 sworn-in officers serving a population of over 51 thousand people, which is a significant increase from historic years. In 1970, the department had only 17 officers serving 49 thousand people! What was 2,882 persons-per-officer, has now become a much more reasonable 689 persons-per-officer.
While most internships take place over the course of a semester, I will be maintaining my work with the department into next year. I am going back over the break to work in person with both NECCO and the police department to get the celebration ready. Similarly, I will be working within the government offices, so I will have the opportunity to be introduced to the various departments and analyze their system of local government. As we move closer to the anniversary, it will be up to me and the team to determine how this research is shared. I will be able to help design the information campaign as the team plans events with the police department to celebrate their long history in the community. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to share my research with the City of Cuyahoga Falls!
The internship has revolved around research so far, and it has been remote. So I, unfortunately, have no photos of myself working with the NECCO team. In lieu of a photo of myself, I have included a photo of the Police Department from 1970. The photo was acquired from an article for the Cuyahoga Falls Historical Society.
