New name. New location. New features.
The statewide law enforcement conference presented annually by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy, an arm of the Attorney General’s Office, is being retooled this year to better serve the needs of law enforcement.
The two-day gathering will be Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, with a pre-conference job fair planned for Sept. 29.
Significantly, the workshops for this year’s conference will provide an opportunity for Ohio peace officers to add or acquire instructor certifications to their current certificate and participate in some of the latest instructor platforms being developed — say, for virtual reality (VR) instructors, tactical patrol officers, situational decision-making instructors and school commanders.
In line with this enhanced emphasis on training, the Law Enforcement Conference is now called the Law Enforcement Training Symposium.
The 2024 event will depart significantly from previous conferences in other ways, too:
- The training symposium will move from Columbus to Kalahari Resorts in Sandusky. Home of Ohio’s largest indoor waterpark, the new location provides an opportunity for a fall family getaway.
- On the Sunday before the symposium officially opens, the law enforcement gathering will include a job and career fair at Kalahari — a new offering. Current officers and prospective recruits will have an opportunity to meet with agency and academy representatives from across the state. The job and career fair will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sept. 29.
- Also new this year will be a vendor showcase, featuring the latest products and services to assist law enforcement professionals.
- The Ohio Distinguished Law Enforcement Awards ceremony, a staple of previous law enforcement conferences, will be the focus of a banquet on Monday evening. In years past, the ceremony was typically held as part of a luncheon. The change is designed to give greater prominence to the award recipients and their accomplishments, and to provide a more convenient time for family members to share in the celebration. A few award categories have been slightly redefined this year, and a category has been added to recognize heroic lifesaving efforts. (The accompanying sidebar offers more details.)
In addition, the symposium will feature at least two keynote speakers. Check
www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/LETS for updates.
Be sure to submit nominations for awards
Awards in eight categories will be presented during an evening banquet on Sept. 30 at the Law Enforcement Training Symposium. With so much committed police work going on statewide, the awards committee needs help to ensure that the most deserving officers are properly recognized.
Brief descriptions of the awards are presented below. For all categories, nominations can be submitted by government officials (township to federal); law enforcement executives and current or retired members of law enforcement agencies; and fraternal law enforcement organizations in Ohio. For the Training Award and Community Service Award, nominations also will be accepted from additional sources, as noted below.
- The Victoria Allen Civilian Leadership Award recognizes a civic superhero. Like the award’s namesake, who advocated for thousands of people in her Youngstown community, nominees will epitomize the role of “servant leader,” working to unite their neighbors and local law enforcement.
- The Training Award recognizes an individual whose instructional skills, knowledge and expertise have significantly benefited peace officers. Leaders of a law enforcement academy or other training organization, or a law firm that provides police legal training, can submit nominations, along with the approved nominators listed above.
- The Community Service Award recognizes a law enforcement officer who helps to build bonds between police and the community. In addition to the approved nominators, leaders of civic or community organizations can submit nominations through a chief law enforcement executive.
- The Blue Line Award (formerly the Mark Losey Service Award) honors an officer who is an innovator, someone who shows a knack for devising ways to improve day-to-day police work. Innovations might be in any number of areas, including department policies or procedures, field operations, criminal investigations, crime prevention and community engagement.
- The Group Achievement Award recognizes an outstanding accomplishment through the coordination of many individual efforts, resulting in a lasting impact on law enforcement and/or the public.
- The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a retired law enforcement officer with a career-long history of extraordinary contributions.
- The Exemplary Response Award, new this year, recognizes an officer who distinguished himself or herself through a heroic lifesaving effort (or otherwise exceptional actions) in response to a call for assistance. In contrast to the Valor Award (see below), this award applies to police efforts not involving a criminal situation, use of force or community threat.
- The Valor Award honors a peace officer who, despite risk to personal safety, demonstrated extraordinary courage during a criminal event, community threat, or use-of-force situation that threatened the life of one or more people.
Nomination forms are available on the Attorney General’s website:
www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/LETS. Electronic nomination forms and supporting documents should be emailed to LEAwards@OhioAGO.gov.
They can also be mailed to:
Ohio Law Enforcement Awards Committee
Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission
P.O. Box 309
London, Ohio 43140
The deadline for nominations is May 31, 2024. Please contact Susan Boggs at Susan.Boggs@OhioAGO.gov or (740) 845-2353 if you have questions about the awards program or nomination forms.