Staff report

ARCANUM — The Arcanum Police Department announced it has achieved Ohio Collaborative Board certification standards.

Led by Chief Marcus Ballinger, the dedicated officers worked the last 24 months tirelessly to adopt these state standards to become certified. The certification process is ongoing, and the police department will re-certify every few years.

In 2014, the State of Ohio established the Ohio Collaborative Board, a 12-person panel of law enforcement experts and community leaders from throughout the state to establish state-certified standards in policing.

These standards include: Mass Protests/Demonstrations, Vehicular Pursuit, Investigation of Employee Misconduct, Bias-Free Policing, Body-Worn Cameras, Use of Force, Deadly Force, Employee Recruitment and Hiring, Community Engagement, and Agency Wellness Standards.

The rigorous certification process is a detailed review of policies and standards the police department has to meet to become certified in Ohio, and it is rare that an agency Arcanum’s size can complete all five groups of certification. It’s so rare that Arcanum is the first small agency in the state of Ohio to achieve all five standards.

According to Chief Ballinger, the police department is not only saying it will hold itself to a higher standard, but will prove it daily and show transparency through these state-certified standards.

The Arcanum Police Department is dedicated to providing the community with a well-trained police department that exhibits professionalism at all times to provide the safety and security Arcanum residents deserve for the quality of life they desire.