ROPD completes an active 2023

The Red Oak Police Department wrapped up an active 2023 and is now gearing up to help the community and surrounding area this year.
Red Oak Police Chief Justin Rhamy said this past year was much like 2022, with mental health calls being the most prevalent.
“It continues to be the number one issue for our calls for service, and possibly for the county as well. Those have gone up from 2022 by about 30%. Much like the year before, it continues to be a problem, and we just don’t have the resources available to us to treat these individuals,” Rhamy said. “We go through a yearly training in regards to mental health, but that is to assist us in the field with an emergent situation, such as if we need to de-escalate a situation, or give the officers the tools they need to get the most necessary help available to the individual in need with what we know or what we’ve been trained on.”
While in 2022, domestic situations were the most prevalent call the department received, those numbers were actually down in 2023, though Rhamy said he couldn’t give a specific reason as to why.
“I think maybe the reason could be because in 2022, we were still on the heels of COVID-19 and people were taking more precautionary measures and trying to distance themselves and remain at home. Now people are getting more mobile in the community or their jobs. The fear of COVID is still there, but it’s not as high as what it was. I’m not for certain, but that would be my educated guess,” said Rhamy.
The second highest call volume in 2023 was 911 hang-ups. In 2022, hang-ups were at 494, and in 2023 they’ve added 400 to the total for 894 911 hang-ups. Rhamy felt it was a good opportunity to share a public information message with the public.
“If you accidentally dial 911 and didn’t mean to, please remain on the line until you get an answer from the communications center and they are able to confirm there is no emergency there. That is probably the biggest time-consuming event the dispatchers have to deal with. There’s a process they have to go through to get the caller back on the line to make sure there’s not an emergency, or in some cases they send out officers or rescue units to an unknown situation that, if they had simply stayed on the line, could have been easily resolved by talking to the dispatcher,” Rhamy said.
Community relations officer Amber Jennings followed up on Rhamy’s comments, saying the call triggers in the dispatch center much sooner than people may think.
“Even before the first ring on your phone, the call has rung in the dispatch center, and with the phones being the way they are, it’s mapping your location immediately, which is how officers get sent out to the location if there’s a hang-up and the dispatcher can’t get back in touch with the caller,” commented Jennings.
In 2022, the police department streamlined its records department. Rhamy said Jennings has done an amazing job with the position this past year.
“It was a very easy transition. Prior to Kim Haidsiak’s departure, she got Amber up to speed on certain areas, and with Amber’s prior experience in the communications center, she was already well versed in all the details of the overall system, which simplified things immensely,” Rhamy said.
Additionally, Jennings said her role in the police department has continued to expand.
“We added more tasks and jobs last year, and I’ve gotten in one full year of doing records and community relations. I make it work. We’ve been working on the evidence locker trying to clean it up cause it’s been a few years. We’re also expanding our social media platform. One of our new officers is really involved in doing public relations work and doing good things for the community,” Jennings commented.
Going into 2024, Rhamy said the police department is at full capacity with 11 full-time officers.
“When Kim retired last year, we combined her position for Amber and allocated for an 11th officer. The city council did some pay rate adjustments, and the biggest thing we’re working on is retention and retainment. It’s helped deter people from getting tired of the job and wanting to go elsewhere, and keeps our pay competitive with other agencies,” advised Rhamy. “Also, a good majority of our officers are from the local area. These are their home roots and they don’t have an interest in leaving the immediate area, at least for the time being. It’s not a stepping stone position for them.”
Also this year, the police department added two new vehicles to the vehicle fleet. Rhamy said keeping the fleet up has been a challenge since COVID-19.
“Fleet vehicles, like police cars, fire engines, and the like, have taken the hit in the production lines. Some makers have modified their models. Finding vehicles has been a challenge and it doesn’t sound like it’s going to get any better in 2024. Ford isn’t going into production until late 2024. Chevrolet has drastically reduced its inventory, and Dodge is the only one in full swing production that has vehicles we can order, and that’s been recent, but it could be up to 180 days before you see the new vehicle,” explained Rhamy. “It also takes time for the outfitters to get the right equipment for those vehicles, and they are having struggles in their production lines as well.”
One of the things that has helped out the department, Rhamy said, is Red Oak Chrysler, which is phenomenal to work with.
“They go above and beyond to meet our demands. The new Durangos are from Illinois. They found five, and within two days, there were three of them sold. We were able to approve the purchase through the council in time, and the dealer was listening to the council meeting and went ahead and reserved them for us before I even called them. That’s the joys of small-town, local service, and it’s a huge benefit,” stated Rhamy.
While vehicles in the past had mainly been Dodge Chargers, Rhamy said a good majority of the fleet production lines were going to SUVs.
“Most of the area departments are transitioning to SUVs, which is beneficial; they’re more roomy for the officers and can carry more equipment and are better in the weather. The all-wheel drive Chargers we have are all-wheel drive, but now the Chargers are all rear-wheel drive which doesn’t help us in inclement weather. When I first started, everything was rear-wheel drive. All-wheel drive has been an amazing benefit for us,” Rhamy commented.
One thing that has been increasing, which can be problematic, is an abundance in reliance on technology.
There’s so many added security measures we have to go through, especially because we have access to such vital information. We are fortunate to have Beau Boeye. He does the majority of the IT side of things and keeps us in line with added security measures and making sure all of our IT equipment is up to speed and running smoothly, and replacing outdated computers. We’re fortunate to have Beau to work with,” said Rhamy.
The department also hosted another successful National Night Out event. Jennings said this may have been the largest year in participation.
“It just keeps growing every year. I think we had about 90 businesses and organizations participate. I also feel our attendance was up but that’s harder to gauge. We don’t have tickets, so we rely on plate counts from different vendors for our totals,” Jennings advised.
Rhamy feels the community is getting a better understanding of what National Night Out is all about and what they’re trying to make it about.
“We want to build the camaraderie among the public safety side of things, but we also want to make sure it’s there among the businesses, civic organizations and things like that, so we can put faces to names. We continue to encourage businesses every year, and that’s what we want. I think it speaks volumes the amount of participants we have, and the amount of a crowd we draw in. You can look around to other National Night Out events and they don’t have the attendance I feel that we have,” explained Rhamy. “It’s a group effort that started under Brad Baker, and we include everyone we can. At the end of the day, we have to work with all these agencies, so being able to know each other is huge.”
Rhamy said they’re doing their best to keep building up their reserve officer program as they move through 2024, but that’s difficult.
“The level of interest in police, as well as fire and EMS, has drastically changed. When I started, it was a good career to get into. Now it’s a struggle to get applicants,” Rhamy stated.
Rhamy said his goal for 2024 is to do everything they’ve been doing to keep Red Oak thriving.
“Our main objective is to preserve life and property. How we do that and approach that can change. The interactions we have with the public in regards to community liaison events continuously evolve to keep people engaged. Things will mostly remain the same, we’ll just have to tweak some things to make sure that engagement is there,” Rhamy commented. “Most recently, Amber and the guys went out to the movie theater and dressed up for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. It’s a different but effective way to engage the community, and we had a good engagement and turn out for it. Community relations and engagement will always remain a work in progress.”
Rhamy also said the department appreciates all the community support and everything it does for them.