Photo: Jake Underwood
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced today that 24 local law enforcement agencies would receive a total of $11.7 million to help prevent and investigate incidents of violent crime, including domestic violence, gun violence, and human trafficking.
The grants represent the 10th round of the Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program. To date, Governor DeWine has awarded nearly $70 million to 146 Ohio law enforcement agencies as part of this program. Approximately $100 million will be awarded to local law enforcement agencies as part of the grant program.
“Local law enforcement agencies spend considerable time and resources to combat violent crime and make their communities safer,” said Governor DeWine. “By funding advanced technological tools and increased staffing through this grant program, we are supporting their mission and helping the cause.”
Photo: CJS
Cuyahoga County - In Total
The Brooklyn Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $181,471.39 for special detail consisting of four officers to deter crime and increase engagement with the community to decrease weapons-related offenses.
The Beachwood Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $559,073.82 to assign two full-time officers to their Specialized Patrol Enforcement and Response (SPEAR) to provide high-visibility in target areas to reduce crime.
The Bratenahl Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $89,500 for retention bonuses to aid in retaining current full-time staffing levels for 11 of the authorized 15 sworn staff.
The Cleveland Division of Police (Cuyahoga County) will receive $355,400 to address homicides and felonious assaults, particularly those committed with firearms, by enhancing the work of its Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC). Operational intelligence and situational awareness will be improved with new technology to help identify wanted suspects.
The Cleveland Division of Police (Cuyahoga County) will receive $4,215,000 for retention bonuses for 1,405 sworn officers.
The Cleveland Division of Police (Cuyahoga County) will receive $1,747,101.01 to expand work to deter youth from gang involvement; purchase a National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) system to aid in solving gun crimes, and expand the number of Violent Crime Reduction Teams that immediately respond to violent crimes in the city.
The Cleveland State University Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $240,084.30 for retention bonuses for 21 officers and dispatchers.
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office will receive $250,670.19 to create a team of investigators working as part of the Cuyahoga County Crime Gun Intelligence Center who will be assigned exclusively to investigating National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) leads tied to incidents in suburban Cuyahoga County communities. These investigators will work with suburban agencies and assist with interviewing witnesses and obtaining search warrants.
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office will receive $989,628.30 to hire three additional attorneys to focus on prosecuting the current backlog of domestic violence and sexual assault cases. Funding will also be used to continue providing forensic phone extractions for law enforcement partners and to study the effectiveness of ongoing violence-reduction strategies. •
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office will receive $163,000 to expand on current efforts to combat violent crime by targeting more resources to hot spot areas with high rates of violent crime. The department will increase collaboration with more than 60 Cuyahoga County law enforcement agencies by offering additional technological resources to aid in investigating incidents of violence, preventing crime through general deterrence, and increasing the apprehension of violent offenders.
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office will receive $1,532,448.48 for retention bonuses for 159 deputies, Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy training, recruitment advertisements, and to fill 14 vacancies.
The East Cleveland Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $149,236.58 to work to reduce gun violence in their community with new gunshot detection technology to increase response times and improve effectiveness at crime scenes. The gunshot detection technology will also allow the department to utilize gunfire location and frequency data to identify strategic hot spot locations for future saturation patrols. Data will also be used to further develop the community’s comprehensive community policing initiative with an emphasis on neighborhoods where community outreach may have the highest impact on reducing incidents of gun violence. •
The Euclid Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $174,771.75 to implement a new intelligence-led policing initiative using predictive analysis to target gun violence in neighborhood micro-locations. The focused-deterrence initiative will create Gun Violence Reduction Teams (GVRT) that will focus solely on these gun violence hot spots to identify those illegally in possession of firearms, increasing gun seizures and reducing the number of shots fired in these areas. GVRT officers will rapidly respond to calls of shots fired to identify and arrest suspects, locate and interview witnesses, and provide first aid to any victims.
The Euclid Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $107,000 to purchase new technology to prevent and investigate violent crime incidents.
The Garfield Heights Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $1,311,936.82 for advanced crime analysis and new technology to help identify repeat offenders and hotspots for crime. •
The Lakewood Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $217,752.26 for new technology to help reduce criminal activity and violent crime. Funds will also be used to increase patrols and decrease gun violence at Madison Park, which has seen a recent spike in violent crime.
The Maple Heights Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $216,237 to pay retention bonuses to keep current staffing levels stable.
The Orange Village Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $239,689.39 to help gain leads using new technology to identify, apprehend, and prosecute criminal offenders.
The Southeast Area Law Enforcement Task Force (Cuyahoga County) will receive $253,721.78 to pay for retention bonuses and overtime hours for officers and to purchase new technology to prevent and investigate violent crime incidents. •
The South Euclid Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $382,430.34 for filling two vacancies, a new hire, and retention bonuses for 11 officers.
The Strongsville Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $1,620,514.87 for hiring three full-time police officers and five full-time dispatchers.
The Westlake Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $119,250 to work to reduce gun-related crimes and other acts of violence by enhancing its current hot spot policing efforts through daily focused patrols, regular saturation patrols, and new technology in identified areas with high violent crime rates. Concentrated focus on specific hot spots will prevent crime through general deterrence and increased risk of apprehension. The Westlake Police Department will also work to engage the community through continued problem-oriented policing to address underlying conditions that lead to recurring crime problems.
The Westlake Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $1,829,525.61 to purchase new technology to prevent and investigate violent crime incidents, offer retention bonuses, and hire officers.
Lake County - In Total
The Lake County Narcotics Agency will receive $45,744 to support a new initiative to reduce violent crime by using data and intelligence to identify a small number of highly active violent offenders and target them for investigation and arrest.
The Mentor Police Department (Lake County) will receive $186,000 for retention bonuses to aid in retaining the current staffing levels of 77 officers, 15 dispatchers, and four part-time officers/dispatchers.
The Painesville Police Department (Lake County) will receive $136,482.60 to expand its Intersection Camera System to the southern and western parts of the city to allow for city-wide coverage of significant intersections, traffic choke points, and roads leading into and out of the city. Videos of vehicles before, during, and after incidents of violent crime will help investigators quickly develop tangible leads and will be useful to neighboring communities for incidents involving travel to and from Painesville. The cameras will also serve as a crime deterrent.
The Willoughby Police Department (Lake County) will receive $4,280 for developing a recruitment video to encourage new hires and increase staffing levels.
Lorain County - In Total
The Elyria Police Department (Lorain County) will receive $193,496.88 to expand its Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative to reduce violent and firearm-related crimes in targeted areas with high crime rates. New technology combined with an increase in traditional proactive policing in specified areas will create coverage in identified high-crime areas 24/7 to prevent crime through general deterrence and increased risk of apprehension.
The Elyria Police Department (Lorain County) will receive $2,765,513.43 to hire twelve new officers to allow for more proactive policing initiatives to prevent violent crime. Funds will also be used to offer sign-on and retention bonuses, hire a recruiting specialist and purchase new equipment for their digital forensics and crime scene units.
The Lorain Police Department (Lorain County) will receive $42,845.83 to launch a directed-patrol initiative to deter gang-related crime through saturation patrols. The department will also develop a youth mentoring/gang diversion program in partnership with Lorain Men of Courage, a local nonprofit youth mentoring organization. The six-week mentoring program for at-risk youth will focus on diverting these youth from the gang and school violence by offering mentoring and providing other supports to facilitate future success.
The Sheffield Village Police Department (Lorain County) will receive $257,244.84 to hire two full-time patrol officers to increase law enforcement presence and enhance public safety.
Medina County - In Total
The Medina County Drug Task Force will receive $160,092.65 to hire one drug enforcement and interdiction agent.
The Medina County Sheriff's Office will receive $53,500 to purchase new technology to prevent and investigate violent crime incidents with a focus on reducing aggravated assaults and domestic violence cases.
The Medina Police Department (Medina County) will receive $60,000 to purchase new technology to prevent and investigate violent crime incidents.
The Wadsworth Police Department (Medina County) will receive $241,020.68 to aid recruitment efforts, hire one police officer, provide surveillance technology, and data retention/access.
The Wadsworth Police Department (Medina County) will receive $237,956 for retention bonuses for current staff.
Summit County - In Total
The Bath Police Department (Summit County) will receive $230,826 for retention bonuses to aid in retaining current staffing levels of nine full-time dispatchers, one part-time dispatcher, 23 full-time officers, and one part-time officer •
The Cuyahoga Falls Police Department (Summit County) will receive $40,000 to enhance ongoing recruitment through a 20-week radio campaign targeting likely police candidates. •
The Silver Lake Police Department (Summit County) will receive $53,935.24 for retention bonuses for three supervisors, five full-time officers, and five part-time officers. • The Stow Police Department (Summit County) will receive $330,689.60 for retention bonuses to aid in retaining the current staffing levels of 12 supervisors, five detectives, and 25 officers.
The Summit County Drug Unit will receive $111,090.45 to pay for the detective's overtime hours and purchase new technology to prevent and investigate violent crime incidents.
The Summit County Prosecutor'sOffice will receive $764,982.74 to fund two additional prosecutor positions for the existing Gun Unit within the office and to offer retention and hiring bonuses.
The Summit CountySheriff'sOffice will receive $421,241.13 to add four additional deputies to the Akron Police Department Gun Violence Reduction Team (GVRT), which targets hot spot areas of high crime and violence and works to identify individuals committing crimes with guns. The additional deputies will allow GVRT to expand its surveillance and intelligence gathering into additional areas to reduce incidents of violent crime and increase the seizure of guns possessed by prohibited individuals. •
The Summit CountySheriff'sOffice will receive $2,918,249.69 to fill ten vacancies and for retention bonuses for two dispatcher supervisors, 17 dispatchers, 57 supervisors, and 241 deputies.
The Summit County Sheriff'sOffice will receive $98,546.81 to support the Summit County Human Trafficking Task Force's overtime operations and purchase new technology for use in human trafficking investigations.
The Twinsburg Police Department (Summit County) will receive $909,502.60 for hiring three police officers and three dispatchers and retention bonuses for 34 officers and 10 dispatchers.
In partnership with the Ohio General Assembly, Governor DeWine created the Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program last year to give local law enforcement additional tools to address violence, including increases in crime associated with law enforcement retirements and resignations.
The program is funded through the state operating budget and with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that Governor DeWine and the Ohio General Assembly have dedicated to first responders to counter various pressing issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, including violent crime. The grants announced today are all funded through ARPA.
The program is administered by the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services within the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
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