(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced today that 89% of Ohio’s population is now served by a law enforcement agency meeting or seeking to meet standards developed by the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board.
“Uniform standards for Ohio law enforcement increase the trust between the public and local agencies,” said Governor DeWine. “Each year, more and more agencies step up and become certified, which benefits all Ohioans.”
The 2023 law enforcement certification report provides an update on the number of law enforcement agencies that have implemented Ohio’s statewide minimum standards that are lumped into five groups. The categories include Group 1 (use of force and hiring and recruitment), Group 2 (community engagement, body-worn cameras, and telecommunicator training), Group 3 (bias-free policing and employee misconduct), Group 4 (vehicular pursuits), and Group 5 (mass protests and agency wellness).
The 2023 report’s updated numbers reflect that:
- 606 law enforcement agencies, an increase of 37 since the 2022 report, have adopted Group 1 standards.
- 517 agencies are certified in both Group 1 and Group 2 standards, compared to 481 agencies last year.
- 384 agencies are certified in Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3 standards, compared to 345 agencies last year.
- 342 agencies have obtained certification in Groups 1-4 standards, compared to 291 agencies last year.
- 163 agencies are certified in all five Group standards.
According to the report, 88% of Ohio’s law enforcement officers are employed by a certified agency or an agency actively seeking certification. Since the establishment of the standards, 371 agencies have also achieved recertification on the standards.
“This report represents the annual culmination of collaborative efforts made by law enforcement, community members, and other criminal justice stakeholders to improve the trust and to strengthen the relationship between the community and the police,” said Karen Huey, assistant director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety and chair of the Collaborative. “Over the last year, the Board adopted two additional standards – the Developmentally Appropriate Policing & Positive Youth Interactions Standard and the Crisis Intervention Training Standard – which are both very important community populations that law enforcement interact with every day.”
The first two standards were developed by the Ohio Collaborative in 2015 to improve the trust between citizens and law enforcement officers. Certification numbers about the two most recent standards adopted by the Collaborative – interactions with people in crisis and interactions with minors – will be included in next year’s report.
OCJS partners with the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association and the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police to help certify Ohio’s law enforcement agencies in the state and federal standards.
For more information, please visit the Ohio Collaborative’s web site.