The Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police Law Enforcement Foundation has recognized the Bluffton Police Department as the October 2023 Agency of the Month. Outstanding community policing efforts are highlighted by the agency's “Sharing Ohio’s Best” program, an opportunity to promote positive policing.

The agency’s Community Relations and Engagement committee states, “Chief Burkholder and his team have certainly used creativity and relationships to build upon their community policing strategy. They have successfully incorporated a variety of programs for all age groups in their community…. We applaud Chief Burkholder and his agency for their hard work, but we also commend the entire community for accepting quality police programming as a part of the fabric of where they live, work and play.”

About the Bluffton Police Department Community Relations Program
The Bluffton Police Department is a community-based policing organization that proudly serves the Village of Bluffton. Some of their programs are:

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NATIONAL NIGHT OUT
Lt. Mathew Oglesbee’s deep passion, drive and dedication for community-oriented policing has orchestrated this event. The event is made possible with the strong support of Bluffton and Pandora local businesses, community members and the village council. The local support has provided nine years of success with this event. National Night Out provides free swimming, hot dogs, chips, games, snow cones, popcorn, drinks, face painting and more, including fireworks to cap off the night. Lt Oglesbee stated, “we bill this event as a leave your wallet at home event and there is no charge for anything that is provided.”

Other community programs include:

• Bike Rodeo
• Career Day
• Safety Pup
• Druse Prevention Program
• Dodgeball and the youth
• Lions Club Ride to Remember
• Festival of Wheels
• Women’s patrol bike
• Memorial Day parade
• Blaze of Lights
• Christmas tree lighting
• Educational presentations
• Fraud and Scam Alert classes
• Cruising with a Claus
• Police Unity Tour
• October Breast Cancer awareness “Pink Project”
• No Shave November

About the Bluffton Police Department
The Bluffton Police Department consists of ten full-time officers and three part-time officers. They provide 24/7 patrol throughout the community, which includes the 235 acre campus of Bluffton University. Officers routinely patrol using cruisers, bicycles and foot patrols. In 2022, officers responded to 5331 calls for service.

All Bluffton police officers must complete, at a minimum, the State of Ohio Basic Peace Officer training program and any required annual training thereafter. Additionally, all officers must maintain State of Ohio First Responder certification which includes annual training to maintain proficiency in these skills. The combination of these two certifications allows them to provide quality emergency services response throughout the community, whatever the emergency. All full-time and the majority of part-time officers have completed a Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) program which better prepares them for dealing with emotionally charged situations. Officers, by virtue of being on duty, are frequently the first to arrive at the scene of an emergency and are trained and equipped to initiate a response/care plan.