Officer takes to the air on TV

By Denise Dick

The show will air at noon and 7:30 p.m. weekdays on Armstrong Cable Channel 19 and digital Channel 204.

BOARDMAN — Township detective Chuck Mound is hitting the beat in a new way.

“BPD Beat” premiered last week on the Boardman Schools television station, BSTN. It features Mound, the crime prevention officer, talking about a different topic each week with student host Heather VacLav, a senior.

The show can be seen at noon and 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday on Armstrong Cable Channel 19 and digital Channel 204.

“This is the premiere,” Mound said. “We’re asking for ideas on the first program for what people would like to see.”

Last fall, the channel started posting information about wanted criminals and ongoing scams that police were investigating. After seeing his name on the station, one criminal turned himself in to police.

“We’re expanding it a little bit more,” the detective said.

Some information can’t be fully explained with just words on a screen and the new program will lend itself better to those types of topics, he said.

The first installment features Mound and VacLav talking about the new format and asking people to submit ideas.

“People are watching Channel 19,” Mound said. “We’re reaching more people. I can tell by the number of calls I get from people asking me to give talks.”

He visits retirement communities, civic groups and businesses instructing people with crime prevention tips, how to avoid identity theft and other topics.

“It’s all about prevention,” Mound said.

Ideas for future shows include the steps to follow if you’re involved in a traffic crash on private property, avoiding home improvement scams, and personal safety.

Mound works with the township’s zoning office on property maintenance code enforcement and talked of asking one of the zoning officials participate in a future show.

“We’ll probably do this twice a month,” Mound said.

Program lengths will vary.

“It could be anywhere from five to 30 minutes depending on what we want to do,” VacLav said.

For some topics, like those pertaining to traffic, she, Mound and the student camera crew may take the show outside, VacLav said.

This time of year, criminals who specialize in home improvements scams begin to look for victims so that will be an early topic, the detective said.

“If people are aware it’s going on, they’re less likely to be victims,” he said.