FAQ

• Report an Emergency: Call 9-1-1 to speak with a Dispatcher
• Report a non-emergency: Call (419) 447-2323 to speak with a Dispatcher
• Make a police report: Call (419) 447-2323
• For a copy of a case: Records (419) 447-2323
• Complaints: Email ChiefofPolice@tiffinohio.gov
• Follow-up on your case: Officer who took the report
• Anonymous Tips: Detective Division (419) 447-2323

In the event of an emergency, dial 9-1-1

Phone: (419) 447-2323
Email: ChiefofPolice@tiffinohio.gov

Address:
Tiffin Police Department
51 E. Market Street
Tiffin, OH 44883

The Tiffin Police Department does NOT provide background checks or fingerprinting.
Please contact one of the locations listed below.

C.A.S.A.
21 Court Street
Tiffin, OH 44883
419.448.1442

North Central Ohio ESC (NCOESC)
928 W. Market Street
Tiffin, OH 44883
419.447.2927

Seneca County Sheriff’s Office
3040 OH-100
Tiffin, OH 44883
419.447.3456, press #3

There are numerous ways to become better acquainted with our Police Department. A few of these include:

• RIDE ALONG

  Participate in a Ride Along with a police officer. See first hand what a police officer’s job is all about. There are some age restrictions for this program. For further information, contact the department or stop by to fill out a form.

• STATION TOUR

  If you are part of a group or association, participate in a tour of the police facility. For further information, contact (419) 447-2323.

• REQUEST A SAFETY PRESENTATION

  Ask for a representative from the Police Department to give a presentation on a public safety related topic to your group or organization. For further information, contact (419) 447-2323.

At any given time there are officers on the street. The Tiffin Police Department counts on our citizens to alert us to unusual situations. Anytime someone calls, a dispatcher will take the information, ask questions, decide on what/whom to send, and the urgency of the call. We will respond to every call for service, though obviously, the less important calls may take some time to get to. The Police Department appreciates your calls and we rely on you to assist us by calling us whenever you see anything that is suspicious or unusual. For any calls that you do not consider an emergency, please call the Police Department at (419) 447-2323.

Citations can be paid at the Police Department, 51 E. Market Street, Tiffin, Ohio 44883

Please visit our recruitment webpage for more information.

The average level of experience for Tiffin Police Officers is approximately eleven (11) years of service with the City. This has resulted in a work force that is both highly experienced and committed to giving a high level of performance to the community.

The City of Tiffin is a relatively safe community.

It should be noted that every community is going to have crime. Even though Tiffin is a small rural community, it remains the largest City in Seneca County, providing much of the commercial, professional, educational, and recreational/entertainment services for the region. Additionally, the City has several State Routes going through it.

Yes, as mentioned in the previous question, the Police Department has available officers skilled and certified to speak in a wide variety of public safety related subjects to community groups and organizations. Topics have included general issues involving the Police Department and the criminal justice system, residential/commercial crime prevention, school career days, K-9 demonstrations, Special Response Team demonstrations, personal protection, child abuse awareness/prevention, violence in the workplace, defensive driving/driver awareness, parenting, self-defense, etc. For further information, contact (419) 447-2323.

Yes, the Tiffin Police Department has an active House check Program. Prior to going on vacation come into or call the Police Department and they will place you on a list. Be prepared to list the license plate numbers of any vehicles left at the house, and the name and phone numbers of anyone who will be responsible for the location while you are gone. Officers check this list at the beginning of their shifts and make every effort to drive by these residences to see if there is any suspicious activity.

Local police and sheriffs departments generally do not solicit for donations over the telephone, however, some private organizations which have police officers as members do. If you have any questions about solicitations, call the Police Department prior to committing to any donations. (419) 447-2323.

The Tiffin Police Department’s 9-1-1 system automatically displays the phone number, name and address to the dispatcher on any incoming 9-1-1 calls. The dispatcher will still ask your phone number and address to verify the information. All 9-1-1 calls on a cellular phone show up as Out of Area so you will have to give your location. Remember, 9-1-1 is a powerful tool and has already saved many lives, but it is used for emergencies only. All other requests for law enforcement should be made on the Department’s regular line (419) 447-2323.

At any given time there are officers on the street. The Tiffin Police Department counts on the twenty thousand sets of eyes from our citizens to alert us to unusual situations. Anytime someone calls, a dispatcher will take the information, ask questions, decide on what/whom to send, and the urgency of the call. We will respond to every call for service, though obviously, the less important calls may take some time to get to. The Police Department appreciates your calls and we rely on you to assist us by calling us whenever you see anything that is suspicious or unusual. For any calls that you do not consider an emergency, please call the Police Department at (419) 447-2323.

The Tiffin Police Department needs your help in preventing the spread of this problem. Persons caught are prosecuted and required to make restitution and participate in community work programs. Graffiti is often gang related and some is considered “art” by taggers. Whatever the reason, graffiti is unsightly, detracts from the community and accounts for significant dollar damage to property. The best strategy to remove graffiti as a problem is to eliminate incidence of graffiti as soon as it appears. Graffiti is generally perpetrated by youths who want their graffiti message to be seen. Prompt removal of the message prevents this, and the perpetrator is likely to commit the crime again somewhere else, if at all. If graffiti occurs on your property, report it to the Tiffin Police Department immediately. After the police respond and photograph the graffiti, clean it up as soon as possible. If you see graffiti on someone else’s property, including City and school property, report it to the Tiffin Police Department immediately. (419) 447-2323.

When you call the Tiffin Police Department advise the dispatcher of the problem. An Officer will be assigned to your case and he/she will conduct an investigation. The officer will contact you to determine if you desire prosecution or if you just want the calls to stop. If you don’t know who is making the calls, the Officer will give you a case number. You should then call the phone company annoyance bureau with your case number handy, to have them place a “trap” on your phone. It is important that you log the date and time of the calls which are being trapped. After the phone company has traced the trapped calls they will contact the Police Department for further investigation. The Officer will then contact you and compare the information form the phone company with your logs to determine who is calling you.

Having an alarm system is a matter of personal choice. Some people consider an alarm to be a deterrent to would-be thieves. Others feel that the alarm gives them added security when they are home or away. Alarm systems vary in cost, depending on what type of detection system is employed. Some components are readily available at home improvement centers for “do it yourself” installation. Many licensed alarm companies are listed in the phone book or can be found on the internet. We recommend that alarm buyers get at least two bids for the work, ask for references, and make sure there is training provided to everyone who will use the alarm system.

All alarm calls are considered to be real. The possibility of one or more persons committing a burglary is a high risk call and requires two or more police officers to protect the officers, secure the premises, and safeguard occupants, if any. Our dispatchers will routinely dispatch two officers to any alarm call. The police officers may request additional help if the circumstances or location warrant it. Other types of calls are significantly more serious than others so more than one police officer will be dispatched to them initially and if not needed then one officer will return to service and the other will take the report.

Not at present. Court cases have ruled that tossing of advertisements, or such similar activity, are protected by the Constitution. You may simply toss such advertisements into a garbage can and not read them if you wish.

If you have an interest in the accident, either as a vehicle owner, property owner, or driver, you may obtain a copy of the report at the Records Division of the Police Department. In most cases just contacting your Insurance Company with the report number the Officer gave you will be faster as we can give them the information directly.

On a “normal” traffic stop there are several things that are going on. A citation is written and the driver’s license and the vehicle’s license plate are normally checked in the BMV computer. The second officer is there to assist the first officer in case warrants may be found on the driver/passengers, the driver may be OVI or DUS, etc. Additionally, a “routine” traffic stop may have evolved into a more serious law enforcement situation which requires more than one police officer to handle the incident.

This is to protect the officer from being struck from the rear by approaching vehicles.

Absolutely not. However, police officers are expected to enforce traffic laws during their shift.

If you have received a parking ticket which you feel was unjustified or because of circumstances beyond your control you feel that a ticket should not have been issued, you may come to the Police Department and fill out a “Request for Parking Citation Cancellation” form. This form then goes to the Officer who wrote the violation who will then decide whether your reason is valid or not and get back with you.

The Tiffin City Municipal Code allows the Police Department to tow away vehicles which have been parked in one location for 72 hours. These vehicles are considered abandoned because they haven’t moved in that length of time. When you call the Tiffin Police Department be ready to give them the following information, the vehicle’s location, license plate number and a brief description of the vehicle. The Tiffin Police Department will ensure that the vehicle is not reported stolen and will send an officer out to mark the vehicle’s exact location and fill out a warning notice. The notice will have the date and time the officer marked the vehicle. If the vehicle is not moved after 72 hours from the time the officer leaves the notice, an attempt will be made by the Officer to locate the registered owner. If no one can be located then the vehicle will be towed and stored at the registered owner’s expense.

Collisions, particularly injury collisions, are a serious concern to all of us. Excessive speed was a factor in many of these accidents. We strive to work a balance between all of our responsibilities, including traffic enforcement. Our aim at using radar is to reduce the speed of the vehicles traveling the roadway, and bring the average speed of cars using the road down to a safe level. In many cases, radar is only used on a street after an exhaustive engineering study has been made of the roadway. Such a study includes the measuring of vehicle speeds, the accident history of the roadway for the past five years, the state average of collisions for similar roadways, and the nature of the roadway and neighborhood itself. In many cases the neighbors themselves in that particular neighborhood have requested the traffic enforcement.

Call the Tiffin Police Department and advise the dispatcher of the problem. When a police officer is available, he/she will be sent out to your area for extra patrol and radar traffic enforcement. It also helps to tell the dispatcher the time(s) of the violations.

Simply speaking, a radar device sends out a signal which bounces off the approaching vehicle and returns to the device which determines the speed of the vehicle and displays it in miles per hour to the operator. The radar “guns” have built in calibrating devices to insure their accuracy. They are tested each day they are in use. Additionally, the Police Department uses moving and stationary radar devices.

In Ohio, municipal police officers are given their peace officer authority under the Ohio Revised Code. By law we can be requested to assist or back-up other agencies For example, a Tiffin Police Officer could legally exercise peace officer authority in Bettsville or Republic or the County. However, the use of peace officer authority outside the city employing a police officer is generally governed by department policies and state and local mutual aid/assistance agreements.

The law enforcement agencies which serve Seneca County have an excellent working relationship with each other. These include the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office, Attica Police Department, Bettsville Police Department, Bloomville Police Department, Fostoria Police Department, Green Springs Police Department and the Republic Police Department. When one agency calls for assistance due to a significant incident which requires additional personnel, the other agencies respond without hesitation. These types of responses are also dictated and governed by department policies and state and local mutual aid/assistance agreements.

When we receive a barking dog complaint, an officer is sent to investigate. If the owners are not home, we will try to obtain a responsible person to take control of the animals. We will also enter the complaint into our computer system. If enough complaints are received from a certain address over time, establishing this as a chronic nuisance a citation can be issued.

You will need to bring your bicycle (or all of its information) to the front counter of the Tiffin Police Department and a dispatcher will issue a license. There currently is no fee, and the license will be valid forever. The information will be put into our computer system and is used to look up stolen bikes or found bikes to get them back to their owners even if the license is scraped off of the bike.

The Tiffin Police Department is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. If a crime occurred in Tiffin and you are in Tiffin, we will send an officer to assist you or to investigate the crime. If you prefer, you can come to the police department, and an officer will be called in to take your report.

Upon submission, this information will go directly to Tiffin Police Department dispatch and will be kept on file for contacting business keyholders in case of emergency at the business or alarm activation. This type of contact most commonly occurs afterhours using the information provided by you.

Click Here to view and complete the form.

You can provide details regarding a special needs individual by completing the form below and submitting it to the Tiffin Police Department.

Special Needs Advanced Notification Form

Any solicitor or peddler wanting to work in the City of Tiffin shall obtain a license from the Chief of Police. Applications can be obtained at the City of Tiffin Police Department, and a completed application requires valid state-issued identification as well as a license fee.

It is unlawful for any solicitor or peddler to enter any premise and knock at the door or ring the doorbell of any residence, house, apartment or other dwelling in the City that appears on the "Do Not Knock Registry" or upon which there is posted at the entrance a notice which reads "No Solicitors," a "Do Not Knock" sticker or similar phrases that clearly prohibit peddlers or solicitors on the premises unless they have previously been invited upon the premises by the resident.