Ohio Collaborative Bulletin August 2022

This month’s featured agency is the Coshocton County Sheriff's Department. The Coshocton County Sheriff's Department began the certification process in March 2022 and has achieved certification in all five groups.  Sheriff James Crawford stated, "I started out researching interactive policy software companies and made the determination that Lexipol would be a great fit for us. My goal was to have the policies complete within twelve months and I knew it was a huge ask, but if my command staff and I would meet weekly to review each policy, I felt it was achievable. We even reviewed policies when we would travel out of country, just so we would use every spare moment. The process did take us just over a year, but it was well worth the investment. When it came time for evaluation, the process with the Ohio Collaborative Team went very smooth and was very helpful. I highly encourage all fellow law enforcement agencies to take the initiative and go through the process."  If you have an agency that would like to be highlighted, please provide a photo and brief description to Carley Auddino-Polko at cmauddino@dps.ohio.gov.

Agency Program Manager (APM) Training

The Ohio Collaborative Law Enforcement Agency certification program is excited to announce the position of Agency Program Manager. The Agency Program Manager (APM) will be responsible for the management of the law enforcement certification program at their agency, and potentially neighboring law enforcement agencies. Free training opportunities will be provided by the Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS).

Individuals should be considered based on their interests in career advancement opportunities, creation and management of best practice policies, and a desire to assist other law enforcement agencies in the development and management of best practice policies. The APM position will gain keen insight into best practices and other resources available to LE agencies through the Office of Criminal Justice Services. Some of these resources include agency wellness, grant opportunities and training, extradition reimbursement, law enforcement recruitment, OIBRS, anti-human trafficking, and policy and research.

This is a non-paid, part-time position. Candidates will be required to attend training and bi-annual virtual meetings. Future assessors will be hired from the pool of successful agency program managers. Training dates are pending. Interested persons should submit the application to Stephanie Swindell at saswindell@dps.ohio.gov  (614) 728-4790.

OPOTA Training

The Ohio Collaborative team is working closely with the Ohio Peace Officers training commission staff and with certified OPOTA instructors to develop curriculum for 2022 CPT hours on Collaborative standards. This curriculum is coming soon. 

Annual Compliance Reminders

• As a reminder, each standard requires proof of annual compliance. The annual compliance requirements vary by standard and can be found on the Recertification Checklist. Different types of annual compliance may include training documentation, supervisor reviews, an annual analysis, etc.
• Please make sure that you upload your annual compliance into the appropriate standard folders in the database. You will notice different tabs for each year listed in the folders. If you have not uploaded any documentation for 2022 yet, you will not have a 2022 tab until after you upload your first document to that particular folder.
• The annual compliance should be uploaded at some point during the calendar year.

OCJS Staff Contact information

• Stephanie Swindell: 614-728-4790
• Carley Auddino-Polko: 614-752-4569
• Phil Wesseler: 614-644-4283
• Ed Burkhammer: 614-466-5996