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Police Agency Information

Mission Statement:
The Powell Police Department’s mission is to safeguard persons and property through preparedness and vigilance.  The department holds true to a community policing philosophy. Its members continually strive for excellence in service, training and professional development.

Agency Structure:
The Powell Police Department consists of 18 sworn officers and two civilian employees. The department is composed of two divisions – Administration and Operations. The Administrative division contains two authorized positions, the Chief of Police and the Deputy Chief. The Operations division is divided into three sections: Patrol, Investigations and Records. 

Patrol:
The Patrol section is the backbone of the agency, providing the majority of police services to the public. The Patrol section is responsible for responding to all dispatched calls, preliminary investigations of all reported crime, proactive traffic enforcement, business and residential security, and numerous special details.  With all of these responsibilities, the Patrol section has the largest staff allocation within the agency. The Patrol section consists of three Sergeants and 11 Police Officers. Officers are deployed in four districts throughout the City in an attempt to responsibly allocate staffing and best serve the citizens of Powell. All officers within the Patrol section receive specialized training in accident investigation, evidence collection, legal updates, missing persons, firearms, use of force, motor vehicle pursuits, bias-based policing and numerous other topics. Numerous officers within the patrol section serve as state-certified instructors or members of specialized task forces. 

All Patrol supervisors attend the Supervisor Training and Education Program (STEP) and Police Executive Leadership College (PELC), which are sanctioned by the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police. Each training program requires approximately 120 hours of class instruction to complete, as well as additional study time between sessions. The courses focus on leadership, supervisory roles and techniques, and improving performance. 

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

Investigation:
Detectives are tasked with investigating all criminal offenses committed in the City of Powell, as well conducting all departmental background investigations. Each case is assigned for follow-up and is thoroughly investigated until an arrest is made or all leads are exhausted. Detectives complete thorough background investigations on all newly hired department employees. These investigations may take a month or more to complete due to the extensive research involved. The investigative section is currently allocated two detectives.

Detectives receive specialized training in evidence collection, drug identification, sexual assaults, death investigations and numerous other topics.

Records:
The Records section is the primary support unit of the department. Police Clerks provide assistance not only to Department personnel, but also to the public. The department currently authorizes two Police Clerk positions. Police Clerks provide assistance with record checks, vehicle releases, answering and routing non-emergency telephone calls, greeting and assisting visitors, taking fingerprints and providing public records.