Division of Police

Lakewood Community Policing Length: 3:58

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• TRAFFIC AND PATROL DIVISION:
  Personnel provide round-the-clock (24-hour) uniformed police coverage to the community. They respond to all calls for service, along with handling preliminary investigations when they occur. A considerable part of their time is spent in monitoring traffic conditions in the City to ensure the safety of motorists and pedestrians.
• INVESTIGATIVE DIVISION:
  Personnel assigned to the Investigative division conduct follow-up work on incidents reported to the Traffic & Patrol Division. In addition to the investigators assigned to our General Investigative Bureau, four officers are specifically assigned to work in the Juveniles Investigative Bureau on matters involving juveniles and two others specialize in the area of Narcotics and Vice Investigation.
• ADMINISTRATION AND SERVICES DIVISION:
  Employees are responsible for staffing the Communications Center, where calls for service originate and from which Police, Fire and EMS units are dispatched. This division is also responsible for the supervision, security and care of individuals housed in the jail facility.

SERVICES:

Beyond the customary police services performed by most police agencies, the Lakewood Division of Police is engaged in a number of supplemental service programs in the community.

• CHILD IDENTIFICATION PROGRAM:
  A videotaping and fingerprinting program, offered as a service to Lakewood residents every year, that offers parents an opportunity to ensure the safety of their child.

  ID R KIDS Ohio's ID R Kids initiative is a recent statewide effort to encourage all Ohio parents and guardians to bring their minor children in to their local Ohio Deputy Registrar to secure a state ID for them. Ohio ID R Kids Website »

• VACATION SECURITY CHECKS OF RESIDENTS’ HOMES:
  Call the non-emergency number at (216) 521-6773.
• HOME or BUSINESS SECURITY SURVEYS:
  Police officers trained in security measures are available (by appointment) to visit homes and businesses within the City of Lakewood to help identify security concerns. After identifying these concerns, the officers will make practical suggestions for security improvements. This service takes about one hour and can be arranged through the Crime Prevention Unit at (216) 529-6780.
• CITIZEN POLICE ACADEMY:
  The Lakewood Citizen Police Academy provides community members with an inside look at local law enforcement. During the nine-week course, students will be introduced to police operations and participate in a firearms safety demonstration. Other topics include community-oriented Neighborhood Policing, law enforcement ethics, discipline and philosophy, communications, drug enforcement and education, and criminal and traffic law. For more information, contact Lieutenant Brian Joyce at (216) 529-6781.
• D.A.R.E.:
  D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is a kindergarten – through – grade 12 curriculum that places a trained, uniformed officer in the classroom to work with students. Officers are trained in an intensive two-week course taught at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy in London, Ohio, as part of the statewide D.A.R.E. program sponsored by the Attorney General, the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police and the Ohio Department of Education.
• YOUTH RESOURCE OFFICER PROGRAM:
  The City of Lakewood provides police officers to mentor and work with students at Lakewood High School.
• JUVENILE INTERVENTION TEAM:
  Officers work with the Department of Human Services Division of Youth to coordinate the Youth Intervention program which brings together representatives of Police, Youth Services, Lakewood Schools, Juvenile Court and Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services to provide appropriate intervention when a Lakewood youth or family is in crisis.
• JUVENILE DIVERSION PROGRAM:
  Officers work with the Department of Human Services Division of Youth in this program, which allows minors charged with a first-time non-violent offense to make restitution and perform community service for their offense. If the youth complies with the terms of community service, he or she avoids a juvenile criminal record.
• CRIME REPORTS
  The Lakewood Police Department has contracted with CrimeReports.com to provide information to Lakewood residents about crime in their neighborhoods. This new online crime alerting and mapping service provides easy to read incident crime maps and automated alerts to the citizens of Lakewood.
  Click here for more information »

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