CRIME PREVENTION Specialist Info

A Professional Recognition in Crime Prevention

When you apply for Certified Crime Prevention Specialist (CPS) from the Ohio Crime Prevention Association, you are on your way to demonstrating that you continue to be the best in the field. You join a select group of men and women who have made the commitment to excellence in crime prevention, and an ongoing pursuit of knowledge. Founded in 1992, the OCPA CPS Program was designed not only to further elevate professional standards and evaluate individual performance, but also to recognize and distinguish those who have reached one of the highest levels of achievement in the crime prevention profession.

Among crime prevention professionals and law enforcement executives, the CPS is known and appreciated. Not only is it a mark of distinction within our profession, but it offers you a wide range of benefits:

• Help to professionalize and institutionalize the crime prevention field.
• Recognized as a professional certification by a professional organization.
• Assist in demonstrating qualifications to obtain Continuing Education Units for higher education.
• More clearly defines a Crime Prevention Practitioner’s Job Description.
• Establishes crime prevention standards that all departments will want to follow.
• May lead to promotion within your agency based on a recognized professional specialization.
• Assist in defining the Crime Prevention Officer’s relationship to the Department’s Accreditation Program.
• Further defines the role of the crime prevention professional within a community policing effort.
• Assist the OCPA in identifying professional instructors.
• Assist the CPS upon retiring, to maintain professional standards and to increase marketability.