The Bluffton Police Department recently met the requirement to receive Provisional Certification through the Ohio Collaborative Law Enforcement Certification program, according to Ryan Burkholder, Bluffton police chief.

This achievement means that the Bluffton police department has adopted and implemented state standards established by the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board as part of the state’s efforts to strengthen community and police relations.

Bluffton joins five other Allen County agencies that have achieved certification. They include Allen County Sheriff, American Township Police, Elida Police, Marion Township Police and Shawnee Township Police.

More than 500 agencies employing over 27,000 officers (in all 88 counties representing nearly 80 percent of all law enforcement officers in Ohio in most of Ohio’s metropolitan areas) are either certified or 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 by the Collaborative in August 2015.

The state has partnered with the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association and the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police to help certify Ohio’s nearly 960 law enforcement agencies on a process to ensure that they are in compliance with Ohio’s new standards.

The first list of all Ohio compliant agencies was published March 31. The report, which includes information on the certification process and the complete list of agencies who have and have not been certified, can be found by clicking here.