Sheriff’s Office certified by OCCPAB

VW independent staff/submitted information

COLUMBUS — The Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office is one of 39 Ohio law Ohio law enforcement agencies certified for state standards established by the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board. Seven 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.

“I am happy that the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office is recognized as being certified with the Ohio Collaborative on the use of force and hiring and recruitment standards,” Sheriff Tom Riggenbach said. “Working to obtain the certification helps improve the level of professionalism of everyone at the Sheriff’s Office. We will continue to look at ways to improve the Sheriff’s Office operation through the Ohio Collaborative and other avenues.”

Overall, there are 623 certified agencies throughout Ohio that have met the initial standards. Additionally, 29,563 officers (representing 88.10 percent 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, and property room management and evidence control. 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.

List of recently certified agencies:

Athens County Sheriff’s Office (Athens)
Austintown Police Department (Mahoning)
Bellefontaine Police Department (Logan)
Blanchester Police Department (Clinton)
Blue Ash Police Department (Hamilton)
Boardman Township Police Department (Mahoning)
Butler County Sheriff’s Office (Butler)
Canal Fulton Police Department (Stark)
Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office (Coshocton)
Donnelsville Police Department (Clark)
Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office (Fairfield)
Fairview Park Police Department (Cuyahoga)
Gates Mills Police Department (Cuyahoga)
Golf Manor Police Department (Hamilton)
Kent Police Department (Portage)
Lorain Police Department (Lorain)
Macedonia Police Department (Summit)
Medina Township Police Department (Medina)
Miamisburg Police Department (Montgomery)
Montgomery Police Department (Hamilton)
Healthy Police Department (Hamilton)
North Hampton Police Department (Clark)
North Royalton Police Department (Cuyahoga)
Norwood Police Department (Hamilton)
Ohio Department of Natural Resources (Franklin)
Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office (Ottawa)
Parma Heights Police Department (Cuyahoga)
Perry Township Police Department (Columbiana County)
Perry Township Police Department (Franklin County)
Saint Henry Police Department (Mercer)
Stow Police Department (Summit)
Strongsville Police Department (Cuyahoga)
Summit County Sheriff’s Office (Summit)
Tiffin Police Department (Seneca)
Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office (Van Wert)
West Chester Police Department (Butler)
Wood County Parks District (Wood)
Wood County Sheriff’s Office (Wood)
Worthington Division of Police (Franklin)

List of recently recertified agencies:

Danbury Township Police Department (Ottawa)
Flushing Police Department (Belmont)
Hebron Police Department (Licking)
Logan Police Department (Hocking)
New Washington Police Department (Crawford)
Perkins Township Police Department (Erie)
Willowick Police Department (Lake)