COLUMBUS – Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) Executive Director Karhlton Moore announced recently that several police departments recently completed the Ohio Collaborative recertification process, which included a local entity, the Piqua Police Department.

Recertification of the Ohio Collaborative standards takes place on a revolving, three- to four-year cycle. OCJS plans to recertify more than 200 agencies by the end of 2020.

There are 452 agencies employing over 26,500 officers (representing over 75 percent of all law enforcement officers in Ohio, including most of Ohio’s metropolitan areas) that are certified, and 60 that are in the process of becoming certified by meeting standards for the use of force, including deadly force, and agency recruitment and hiring.

The standards are the first of their kind in Ohio and were developed and established by the by the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board 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 nearly 900 law enforcement agencies on a process to ensure that they are in compliance with Ohio’s new standards. The complete list of agencies who have and have not been certified can be found at www.ocjs.ohio.gov/ohiocollaborative/.