OCPA Special Project Award – Departments of More than 100 Officers

Honorable Mention

Multi-Agency Police Saturation (MAPS) Program

In early 2006, The Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ross County Sheriff’s Office and Chillicothe Police Department realized they needed to try something new to reduce criminal activity and traffic fatalities in Ross County. They realized that by combining manpower and resources, they were able to have a greater officer presence in the community and still have enough personnel to cover criminal investigations and execute search and arrest warrants.

They formed Operation MAPS – a heavy concentration of police presence in a targeted area to serve warrants, conduct patrols and make arrests – and with assistance from BCI&I, the FBI Task Force, Ohio Investigative Unit and Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, set out to reduce community crime. All involved agencies shared resources to fulfill the mission. Specific areas were targeted, based on historic data, trend analysis and citizen complaints. These areas were then saturated with highly motivated police personnel.

The program has been very successful to date. Decreases have been realized in property crime, violent crime and traffic crashes in the target areas. MAPS sweeps have led to 661 total arrests, 569 warnings, 41 felony arrests, and 73 driving under suspension citations. The program is a model that has been utilized by six other areas across the state to combat similar problems. It is a model that paved the way for one of the largest inter-agency efforts in Ohio last year, when federal, state and local law enforcement teamed up to effectively apprehend an escaped cop killer.