Poland continues pattern of having few crime reports

Residents reported getting scammed on Internet auction sites.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF Writer
POLAND -- The village is a quiet community with little crime, and that trend continued last year.
In fact, the only area that saw a dramatic increase between 2004 and 2005 was the amount of monetary loss, according to statistics compiled by the police department.
The amount more than quadrupled between the two years, increasing from about $5,000 in 2004 to nearly $22,000 last year.
Chief Russell D. Beatty Jr. attributed that increase to people's getting scammed on Internet auction sites. One resident lost money when he paid for a tractor he didn't receive, and another shelled out a couple of thousand dollars for a car he didn't get.
There were only three burglaries in the village last year, and those occurred in the early part of the year. No stolen cars or robberies were reported.
"I think we had only two cars that were even broken into," the chief said.
Beatty said that's pretty typical for the village.
He attributed the low crime to the visibility of officers throughout the community.
"We patrol like crazy," he said. "I really think us working traffic has a lot to do with it."
The department includes six full-time officers and nine others who work part time.
Officers working with other agencies and task forces also help with information sharing. One village cop works full time with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and another works on the Mahoning County Drug Task Force, Beatty said.
"You get to know who lives here and what's going on," he said.