Don't expect any major changes in the Pinecrest Police Department now that the new chief is on the job, at least not immediately.

Chief Hohensee

John Robert Hohensee (pronounced Ho-In-See) who comes to the Village by way of Oakwood, Ohio -- a bedroom-community suburb of Dayton with 9,000 residents where he spent the last six-and-a-half years as Director of Public Safety -- says he doesn't plan any sweeping changes in the operation of the Village police department, rather he'll take some time to adjust and observe.

"I have seen chiefs come in and because they have been newly appointed they feel they have to do something very quickly to let everyone in the department or in the community know that there's a new guy in town," Hohensee said. "And, I think that's ridiculous because everybody already knows that the new guy is in town.

"If we need to make a change and I see something that's very obvious ­ and we've changed a couple of things, the specifics of which I don't want to discuss ­ we'll do it," he went on. "If I hear a general theme from my employees, then I'm going to start asking some probing questions to find out why it is we do that."

Hohensee, 51, said one of the earliest tasks on his agenda is to sit down and talk individually with everyone who works in the police department.

"I want to interview every employee ­ from our sworn officers to our civilian staff ­ and ask some very basic questions," he said. "It's an opportunity for them to get to know me and vice versa. Also, it's an opportunity for the officers to come in and say, 'Ya know, we do this really good, but we can make it better.' And those are the types of things I need to know before I'm going to make any changes."

Hohensee, who began his career as a beat policeman, did acknowledge that the concept of the neighborhood beat for his officers would continue.

"Familiarity with your beat is the whole premise of community-oriented police work," he said. "The notion of a quadrant, or beat, or district is that familiarity. You know who the residents are, what their customs and practices are, and that familiarity helps you spot irregularities. And, that certainly seems like a good approach. But, again, some of my officers may come to me and say, 'Ya know, this is good but this is what we can do to make it better.' I'll certainly consider anything that has promise. The bottom line is whatever we can do to improve the service, we'll try it and consider it."

Hohensee had some success in establishing a bicycle police patrol unit within the Oakwood Police Department. However, he is uncertain about creating a similar operation in Pinecrest.

"I'll be able to answer that a little better when I see the feasibility of it," he says. "I know the weather here in the depths of summer might not be conducive to it. Putting officers on a bikes and subjecting them to the stress of riding in those temperature extremes is probably not advisable. And, if there are not a lot of people outside, a bike patrol doesn't work so well. The purpose of bike patrol is to engage the community and speak on a one-on-one basis."

Hohensee candidly acknowledges that he has heard speculation that he was hired because of his experience as a public safety director. But, he says no one in authority has told him that Pinecrest may ultimately elect to have its own fire and rescue department.

"I, too, have heard the speculation," he said. "Certainly, if that decision were to be made I might be reasonably well-situated, but by no means does my six-and-half years in Ohio (as Public Safety Director) make me a fire expert. But, I certainly have a working knowledge of it.

"And I'm not sure that I hope for that for this community. But, I am convinced that it does work. One of the dilemmas when you have a public safety department is recruiting the right person coming in with the right mentality. And, it's no secret that we have trouble recruiting just police officers here and retaining them. So, I can imagine trying to turn this into a public safety department would be a huge challenge."

Hohensee, a deceptively big man at six-feet-three-inches tall and 210 pounds, said he is still looking for a house to call his permanent residence and hopes to find one within the Village limits. He doesn't plan on moving his family ­ wife Joan and sons Jason, 13, and Jonathan, 14 -- to South Florida until June when the present school year ends.

For the record, the last book Hohensee read was Bob Woodward's Shadow, which chronicled the effects of Richard Nixon's resignation on the presidencies of the four men who followed him to the White House. He doesn't go to many movies ­ "I think part of the problem that we have with our children being insensitive to violence today is that they see it too much on TV and in the movies." -- but his favorite film was An Officer and a Gentleman.

Hohensee doesn't watch a lot of television, but prefers 60 Minutes and 20/20 type of news magazines, though he does admit to watching a lot of football. Hohensee plays competitive volleyball and is a golfer with a 22 handicap. He's currently is reading A Good Walk Spoiled, the story of trying to make the PGA tour.