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Clark County Sheriff's Office

Community Tour

Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Springfield, Ohio-The Vera Institute of Justice is joining with the Altus Global Alliance to create Police Station Visitors Week, an international effort to promote dialogue and improve understanding between local law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. Police departments in 23 countries on six continents will participate in the program. In the United States, law enforcement agencies including the Denver Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Minneapolis Police Department will take part in Police Station Visitors Week. The Cleveland Ohio Police Department and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Springfield, Ohio are the only law enforcement agencies participating from the State of Ohio.

The program, which runs from October 29 through November 4, is one of the first globally coordinated attempts to engage community members in learning more about their police departments while also providing them an opportunity and means to document and voice concerns about their local law enforcement agencies.

“Visitors Week is a great opportunity for individuals—not just organizations—to make their concerns abundantly clear and to have them heard by their local law enforcement agencies,” says Vera’s executive director Michael Jacobson, who also serves on Altus’s board. “For police, this can be an effective way to strengthen relations with their community.”

On November 1st and 2nd 2006 Sheriff Gene A. Kelly and Chief Deputy David A. Rapp hosted this community tour of the Communications Center, Investigation Division, Firing Range and the Clark County Jail.

Pictures of the Tour