Clinton Township officials are right in considering security measures for Spring Valley Park in the wake of the latest round of vandalism at the recreational facility.

But Clinton municipal and park officials’ thinking regarding police protection at Spring Valley is off the mark and fails to reflect policing realities.

The municipality shouldn’t be seeking more state police patrols in the park vicinity — patrols that would amount to a security detail. Instead, patrols in the area of the park should be the responsibility of a municipal police department.

Like so many other Butler County municipalities experiencing business and residential growth, Clinton continues to rely on the state police when it should have its own police department, be contracting for police service with another municipality, or becoming part of a regional police network.

State police patrols in this county should be focused primarily on the roads that deserve to get most of their attention — Interstate 79 and Routes 422, 8, 68, 19 and 356.

With just a 4.1-mill real estate tax, Clinton has the taxing window to beef up local safety, not only for the park but for residents and businesses as well.

Like it or not, the day will come when it has no choice — despite local officials’ current belief that Clinton doesn’t need a local department because of the municipality’s rural character.

Beyond roadway patrols, Clinton residents and businesses shouldn’t expect the state police to respond to criminal incidents that a local department would be capable of handling.

State police crime units should concentrate mostly on larger-scale incidents that require their bigger variety of investigative resources, not park vandalism such as that which occurred at Spring Valley overnight Aug. 7.

The park’s portable toilet was toppled, a picnic table was put on the roof of the pavilion, trash was strewn throughout the park, and the vandals tried to pull out young trees that had been planted there.

At a township supervisors meeting on Aug. 9, the supervisors discussed reasonable security possibilities such as surveillance cameras, installing dusk-to-dawn lighting and moving the entrance gate closer to Victory Road. Also at the meeting, Linda Klee, chairwoman of the township park advisory board, said state police intend to patrol the area more frequently.

While stepped-up state police presence is acceptable temporarily, Clinton Township needs to begin addressing the long-term need of locally based police protection.

“It’s (vandalism) going to be more and more of a nuisance,” said Supervisor Ed Boyd.

Township officials must come to grips with the need to address that situation — and other local police-protection needs — sooner rather than later.