CRANBERRY TWP — There was a time when the township was a rural Butler County hamlet. Today, it is a vibrant crossroads community.

At its heart is the convergence of major highways: state routes 19 and 228, Interstate 79 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

This southwestern Butler County community now boasts international companies such as Westinghouse House Electric and MSA, hosts Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling companies and hundreds of businesses in the office/flex parks.

Its population has grown from 14,816 in 1990 to 28,098, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

The median household income is $84,007.

But, with the prosperity, comes its share of crime.

And with thousands of vehicles per day traveling through the community, traffic safety and enforcement also is a priority.

The Cranberry Township Police Department, led by public safety director Jeff Schueler and Lt. Kevin Meyer, and a roster of 28 police officers is charged with patrolling 22.8 miles and keeping the public safe.

Last year, Cranberry police responded to 13,337 incidents and made 1,348 total arrests.

Of those arrests, 410 were criminal and 938 were traffic arrests. The department investigated 930 traffic crashes.

In 2010, there were 13,422 incidents and a total of 1,342 arrests. Criminal arrests were 364, traffic arrests 978 and 839 traffic crashes were investigated.

Schueler explained with all the highways and truck safety inspections that enforcement is one of the department’s priorities.

Meyer said the department has its own truck weight scales and has several traffic enforcement officers certified to perform the weight inspections.

This past year, a crime that previously had been a problem cropped up.

With the growing number of hotels in the township, the Cranberry police made 16 prostitution arrests in 2011.

The prior year, there were no arrests.

The hotel staffs have been good in contacting the police when they see suspicious activity at their hotels, which he said helped police in making the arrests, said Schueler.

Some crimes police attribute to the township’s proximity to other states.

Earlier this year, several Ohio residents allegedly tried to steal copper from the Penn Power electrical substation on Route 19 near Bear Run Road.

Last June, an Ohio couple allegedly cut through a wire fence, and stole copper ground cables before inadvertently making contact with electrically charged equipment.

Moments later, a small explosion damaged a transformer and cut power, leaving about 4,100 people in Cranberry without power for several hours.

The costs to repair the station and loss in materials was listed by Penn Power officials at $61,177.

A third person was later implicated in the copper theft plot.

All three suspects are awaiting trial on a host of felonies and misdemeanors related to the attempted copper theft.

A new challenge that officers have faced in recent years has been a language barrier.

Schueler explained the township now has more employees from these multinational companies visiting or working from other countries, that don’t really know the traffic and license rules.

The police department uses Confluent Translations, a language services provider in Pittsburgh, for their interpretation needs.

With all the shopping plazas from Cranberry Mall, Cranberry Square, streets of Cranberry and Cranberry Commons and the new Cranberry Crossroads under construction, there are shoplifters.

From 2007 to 2009, retail theft arrests by township police more than doubled.

“We had retail thefts because of all of our growth,” said Meyer.

“With all the retailers here now and the highway system, they hit and run.”

Although the township has had to deal with rashes of home break-ins during the past few years, Sgt. Chuck Mascellino explained recent cases have had one group of individuals breaking into multiple homes.

Once the police caught up to those individuals and made the arrests, the rash of break-ins stopped.

The department also does its fair share of narcotics investigations with several officers being members of the Butler County District Attorney’s Drug Task Force.

“Retail theft a lot of times turns into a drug investigation,” said Meyer. “Even a simple traffic stop can turn into a drug investigation.”

Training is a big component to Cranberry’s department.

Many of the officers are certified firearms and investigation certified trainers.

And later this year, the department, along with all of the township’s other first responders, will have a new training facility to learn the latest safety and training techniques.

The 5,357-square-foot Public Safety Training building will include a large classroom that can be divided into two rooms, a garage, storage area and restrooms.