(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – The Office of Criminal Justice Services announced today the certification of two Ohio law enforcement agencies for state standards established by the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board. Eleven additional agencies achieved their recertification.
Agencies completing the certification process have adopted and implemented the initial two standards regarding use of force and hiring and recruitment while the recertification process takes place on a revolving, three to four-year cycle.
Please see list below of recently certified agencies:
- Seville Police Department (Medina)
- Wakeman Police Department (Huron)
Please see list below of recently recertified agencies:
- Arcanum Police Department (Darke)
- Bay Village Police Department (Cuyahoga)
- Cedarville Police Department (Greene)
- Fairlawn Police Department (Summit)
- Johnstown Police Department (Licking)
- Lakeland Community College Police Department (Lake)
- Marblehead Police Department (Ottawa)
- Middletown Police Department (Butler)
- Norwalk Police Department (Huron)
- University Heights Police Department (Cuyahoga)
- Walton Hills Police Department (Cuyahoga)
Overall, there are 619 certified agencies throughout Ohio that have met the initial standards. Additionally, 29,563 officers (representing 89.96% of all law enforcement officers in Ohio, including most of Ohio’s metropolitan areas) are employed by an agency that is involved in some form of the certification process.
The Collaborative was formed in 2015 to create uniform standards for Ohio’s law enforcement agencies. The first two standards were developed by the Collaborative in 2015 to improve the trust between citizens and law enforcement officers.
Additional standards established by the Collaborative address community engagement, bias-free policing, body-worn cameras, vehicular pursuits, telecommunicator training, employee misconduct, mass protests, agency wellness, interaction with minors, interaction with people in crisis, property room management and evidence control, and ballistic evidence testing. The standards are the first of their kind in Ohio and were developed and established by the Collaborative as part of the state’s efforts to strengthen community and police relations.
The state has partnered with the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association and the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police to help certify Ohio’s 900-plus law enforcement agencies on a process to ensure that they are in compliance with Ohio’s standards. The complete list of agencies who have and have not been certified can be found at by accessing the Collaborative website.
