Police Agency

Public safety is of paramount importance to the City of Powell, and the Powell Police Department continually strives to sustain the well being of the community.

The Powell Police Department offers an unrivaled sense of safety for its residents and businesses. It consists of 22 sworn officers and two civilian employees who respond to complaints, seek out long-term solutions to neighborhood challenges, and ensure the protection and security of area businesses.

The Powell Police Department has been an accredited police agency through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., (CALEA) since 2002. In 2016, the Police Department went through the Gold Standard assessment and was awarded Advanced Accreditation with Excellence.

CALEA Accreditation Public Comment Portal

Police Divisions

The Chief of Police and the Deputy Chief make up the Administrative Division of the Police Department. The Operations Division is composed of three sections: Patrol, Investigations and Records.

Patrol

As the backbone of the agency, the Patrol section employs four sergeants and 13 police officers allocated through two city districts to best serve the citizens of Powell. Their responsibilities include:

Responding to all dispatched calls
Preliminary investigations of reported crime
Proactive traffic enforcement
Business and residential security

All officers receive specialized training in the following:

Accident investigation
Evidence collection
Legal updates
Missing persons
Firearms
Use of force
Motor vehicle pursuits
Bias-based policing

All patrol supervisors attend both the Supervisor Training and Education Program and Police Executive Leadership College, which are sanctioned by the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police. These 120-hour courses focus on leadership, supervisory roles and techniques, and improving performance.

Each patrol car is equipped with a laptop computer linked to the Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS). This allows officers to receive instant information while on patrol, which raises overall enforcement performance.

Investigation

Detectives in the Investigation section are responsible for investigating all criminal offenses committed in the City of Powell. Each case is assigned for follow-up and is thoroughly investigated until an arrest is made or all leads are exhausted.

Detectives in this section also complete thorough background checks on all newly hired department employees.

Extensive training in evidence collection, drug identification, sexual assaults and death investigation are part of these detectives' ongoing instruction.