Emergencies call 911 Non-emergency (937)328-2560

The South Charleston Police Department serves an ever expanding, continuously changing community of approximately 1,850 residents. The Police Department employs a Chief, Sergeant, and six part-time officers. The Police Department also maintains an auxiliary program that commissions up to twelve sworn police officers. The Police Department is housed in the Town Hall building located at 35 S. Chillicothe Street  in South Charleston, Ohio. 

The primary goal of our Police Department is to promote a sense of safety and quality life in South Charleston. Both Collectively and individually, our Police Department is deeply concerned for our residents and visitors. Our Police Department maintains an atmosphere of professionalism through officer training, updated operational policy, and open communication with its citizenry. We strive to serve our residents and visitors with respect, loyalty, and fairness.

Email Chief Brian Redish

Be Careful…
With nicer weather and Daylight Savings Time come people of all ages enjoying the out of doors. If you are a driver, remember that children will be outside playing and riding bicycles; please be vigilant because small children will not. If you are a pedestrian, please stay alert to all kinds of vehicular traffic.

Take Responsibility and be a Good Neighbor…
Ordinance #98-2 requires pet owners to clean up after their domestic animals. If you walk your dog, please take along a plastic bag so that you can pick up the dog’s “business” and dispose of it properly when you return home. Owners of cats have the same responsibility; please provide a litter box for your cats outside the house as well as inside so that they do not use the neighbor’s flower garden or sandbox. People who do not have pets or who are commercial property owners become particularly frustrated with irresponsible pet owners. Be a considerate neighbor/pet owner wherever you are and at all times. Refusal to do so constitutes a minor misdemeanor.

Ordinance #70-5 prohibits property owners from allowing animals and dogs to run at large, dogs to howl and bark or create offensive odors and unsanitary conditions, and from allowing animals of any kind to graze on their own property or on another’s property. Do not let your dogs run free. Keep them chained or fenced in your own yard and clean up after them. If you leave your dog out at night, listen to see if it is barking. You may be sleeping peacefully with your windows down and the air conditioner cranked up while your neighbor suffers through another hot, sleepless night because of your barking dog. Be a considerate neighbor/pet owner. Any individual refusing to do so will be fined a maximum of $200 and/or imprisoned a maximum of 30 days.

Nuisance Abatement

Year-round – but especially during the warmer months – our police officers check local properties to make sure owners are taking proper care of several basic but critical property maintenance issues. When we find violations, we contact the property owners to make sure they address these issues. This is known as “nuisance abatement.” Nuisances include grass and weeds that are not cut regularly, unlicensed or inoperable automobiles, campers, boats or other similar items parked in the open, and trash or refuse that is not cleaned-up. Our nuisance abatement officers will cite into Mayor’s Court any property owners who are in non-compliance. Our nuisance abatement officer gives only one warning before issuing this citation.

If you received a notice last year for inadequately caring for your grass, vehicles or trash, you will be receiving a friendly reminder this spring to address these potential problems before they get out of hand. Please be a responsible property owner and do not create a need for Village police officers to site you into mayor’s court.

Thoughts on Winter Safety from the South Charleston Police Department

It’s no secret that tempers run short through the holidays, especially when we find ourselves fighting snowy streets slowed by un-anticipated problems.  But seasonal stress is no excuse for careless driving.  DRIVERS MUST YIELD TO EMERGENCY VEHICLES, and that includes ambulances, snowplows, fire trucks and police vehicles.  Please, when tempers run high and patience runs out, take a deep breath and remember that arriving a few minutes later is better than becoming involved in an accident and not arriving at all.

Also, beware of leaving your car running with the doors unlocked.  We appreciate that getting into and driving a cold car on a frigid morning is no fun; many folks like to start the car to warm it up a few minutes before leaving home.  Sometimes folks run into a store briefly to pick up pizza or a hot coffee and leave the car running in the parking lot.  We encourage you to think twice before doing this as it makes you and your car and anyone or anything you have in the car an easy target for thieves.  If you feel you must warm your car before leaving home, use an extra set of keys to lock the doors while it is running.  Never leave your car running in a parking lot, even if just for a very short period of time.  Do not leave the keys anywhere in your car overnight.  Lock the doors to your home at night and any time during the day when you are gone.