On the Job 

Many Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy courses allow law enforcement officers to meet their continuing professional training requirement for 2014. Of the four CPT hours required of Ohio peace officers and troopers this year, three can focus on general law enforcement topics and one must be related to crimes against families. Here is a look at some CPT training options available through OPOTA. For details, visit OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/OPOTA.

The experiences of Steven Davis, Brad Ditullio, and Gregory Ivory are stark reminders of the risks law enforcement officers take every time they work a shift. The three officers were among dozens of individuals recognized with 2013 Distinguished Law Enforcement Awards at the Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Conference in October.

Fraudster ‘Bobby Thompson’ sentenced to 28 years
 
John Donald Cody, known for years under the stolen identity of Bobby Thompson, was sentenced in December to 28 years in prison on 23 counts, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and complicity to money laundering and theft. The judge also fined Cody more than $6 million and ordered him to spend every Veterans Day in solitary confinement.

Nearly three decades after DNA analysis first became a tool in criminal investigations, demand for the testing continues to rise. In Ohio, BCI is experiencing its heaviest DNA caseload ever.

The first year of a major push to analyze Ohio’s untested sexual assault kits has concluded, and the results exceed even the most hopeful predictions.

Technology will always be one of crime-fighters’ best weapons. It helps us outsmart the most devious criminals, join forces with others in law enforcement, speed assistance to victims, and prevent future crime.

Ohio law enforcement officers will receive four hours of professional training in 2014, one hour related to crimes against families and three on general law enforcement topics.

Karen Kwek had been a member of the lab team at the Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation for 14 years when she was named BCI’s laboratory director in late spring. She oversees 150 staff members and an ultramodern lab that law enforcement and prosecutors around the state rely on for fast, accurate evidence analysis.

The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) has reaccredited the Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy under its new Gold Standard Assessment program. OPOTA was the first law enforcement training facility in the United States to receive the Gold Standard accreditation.

Ohio is now among only about 20 percent of states across the country to implement a container program for disposing of methamphetamine lab waste, an approach recommended by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. The Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) launched the program in May.