Ohio Certifies One Agency, Recertifies 17 Others for Collaborative Board’s Standards

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – The Office of Criminal Justice Services announced yesterday the certification of one Ohio law enforcement agency for state standards established by the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board. Seventeen 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:

• St. Clairsville Police Department (Belmont)

Please see list below of recently recertified agencies:

• Canal Fulton Police Department (Stark)
• Canfield Police Department (Mahoning)
• Carey Police Department (Wyandot)
• Carrollton Police Department (Carroll)
• Chesapeake Police Department (Lawrence)
• Clinton Township Police Department (Franklin)
• Cortland Police Department (Trumbull)
• Delaware Police Department (Delaware)
• Forest Park Police Department (Hamilton)
• Grand River Police Department (Lake)
• Linndale Police Department (Cuyahoga)
• Monroeville Police Department (Huron)
• Oak Harbor Police Department (Ottawa)
• ProMedica Police Department (Lucas)
• Putnam County Sheriff’s Office
• Upper Sandusky Police Department (Wyandot)
• Urbana Police Department (Champaign)

Overall, there are 618 certified agencies throughout Ohio that have met the initial standards. Additionally, 29,723 officers (representing 90.44% 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.