|
For Immediate Release: August 13, 2025
Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board Revises Missing Persons Standard
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – The Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) announced today that the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board revised its statewide minimum standard for missing persons.
At its meeting today, the Collaborative emphasized the need to standardize procedures for local law enforcement agencies to follow in the event of a missing adult or child.
Noting that the successful recovery of a missing person is time-sensitive in nature, the Collaborative also stressed the importance of law enforcement officers acting quickly with accurate information.
To gain accreditation in the new standard, Ohio law enforcement agencies must establish written policies for reporting and investigating missing adults and children. The policy is required to include:
- Entry and removal of the information in the appropriate criminal justice information systems.
- The criteria for which alert system to activate to notify the public pursuant to Ohio Revised Code chapter 5502.
- Follow-up responsibilities.
Additionally, policies would differ slightly depending on if the missing person is an adult suffering from mental health issues, Alzheimer's disease, or dementia. As for the additional considerations for missing children, the Collaborative said that prompt and systematic searches are common features of these investigations.
The Collaborative reviewed and revised its missing persons standard following a recommendation from the Ohio Missing Persons Working Group, which was created to examine the efficiency of missing persons investigations in Ohio. The group issued a final report on May 27.
The Collaborative was formed in 2015 to create uniform minimum standards for Ohio’s law enforcement agencies covering use of force and hiring and recruitment. Since that time, the Collaborative adopted an additional 12 standards as part of the original certification program. Governor Mike DeWine announced the creation of a new program, the Ohio Collaborative Law Enforcement Accreditation Program (OCLEAP) last year, which the Collaborative also now administers. OCLEAP encompasses 32 standards for Ohio law enforcement agencies to adopt in order to be considered accredited. The first 10 agencies completed OCLEAP accreditation in February.
For more details, visit the OCJS website at: http://www.ocjs.ohio.gov/.
For additional information, contact:
Bret Crow at (614) 769-4779
bacrow@dps.ohio.gov
|
