Suburban Police Departments and Sheriffs' Offices to get Crime Analysis Training through Justice Department Grant

Seven suburban police department in Cuyahoga County and four county sheriffs’ offices will have increased crime analysis capability through a $300,000 Justice Department grant, said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

“Our office will continue to support law enforcement beyond prosecuting cases, whether that means paying for more officers or advanced training or supportive technology,” Dettelbach said. “This grant will help departments utilize their resources more effectively, making both the community and the officers safer.”

The police departments which will undergo the crime analysis training are Beachwood, Bedford, Berea, Euclid, Mayfield Heights, Parma and Rocky River, as well as the sheriff’s offices in Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake and Lorain counties.

The departments will receive training, technical support, computer software and hardware related to crime analysis. When the work is completed, the departments will be capable of using their training and software to effectively map and analyze crime trends, and to also share that data with other area departments which have already undergone the training.

The grant was made to the Northern Ohio Violent Crime Consortium, a project administered by the U.S. Attorney’s Office which brings together leadership from the police departments of Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Elyria, Lorain, Mansfield, Toledo and Youngstown, federal and state law enforcement agencies as well as researchers from Kent State University and the University of Akron.

The eight NOVCC cities underwent similar crime analysis training last year and will receive continued training through this grant.

Each department will designate officers to receive intense training over several days. Technical support will be provided by computer and crime analysis experts. Funding will be provided for crime analysis software where necessary. Follow-up will be done to insure crime analysis capabilities are being fully implemented into all aspects of the department.

The Northeast Ohio Regional Fusion Center is also a partner in this effort. The goal will be to develop a toolkit to increase crime analysis capacity that can be replicated and shared across the country. Northern Ohio was one of three regions to be awarded the grant, along with Tempe, Ariz. and Charlotte/Mecklenburg, N.C.

The project will start Tuesday, Feb. 24, with an all-day kickoff meeting at Mayfield Village Civic Center. Marty Sumner, chief of the High Point (N.C.) Police Department, will address the group on his city’s success in reducing crime using crime analysis, evidence-based practices and community engagement. Police leadership from the NOVCC cities will also address the group on their progress and on previous projects, sharing success stories and lessons learned.