County Priority 10.1:  Expand shared services to build capacity and support effectiveness of regional partners

Objective/Metric 1: Encourage adoption of a countywide, unified emergency mass notification system.

The Department of Public Safety & Justice Services (PSJS), Division of Emergency Management contracts with OnSolve for its CodeRED emergency mass notification system. Implemented in Cuyahoga County as the ReadyNotify program, PSJS utilizes CodeRED to issue countywide alerts through voice calls, text messages and/or emails regarding emergency incidents such as severe weather, major road closures and other situations that impact large areas of the County. The County also makes this notification service available to municipalities free of charge, enabling local leaders to issue targeted alerts on emergency incidents or other situations effecting constituents within their communities. As of Q3 2021 there are 43 municipal and 17 local agency subscribers using the system.  

Objective/Metric 2:  Establish resource database consisting of first responder agencies (fire, law enforcement, EMS) and public works/service departments within Cuyahoga County.

The Department of Public Safety & Justice Services (PSJS), Division of Emergency Management manages a database system that tracks inventories of equipment and apparatus owned and utilized by local police, fire, and public works departments in responding to emergency incidents. The database, powered by the web-based application Knowledge Center, is available to all emergency response agencies within Cuyahoga County. Each local agency enters and updates its inventory on a regular basis and, in turn, has access to view all information in the system. This system facilitates the sharing of vehicles and equipment among communities. As of Q3 2021, there are 52 fire department and 60 police department stakeholders in the system entering and maintaining their inventories.

Objective/Metric 3: Develop emergency evacuation plans for communities to protect against and respond to natural and human-caused incidents.

An evacuation plan enables first responders to safely and efficiently direct residents, workers and visitors away from the location of a large-scale emergency. PSJS Division of Emergency Management coordinated creation of a template available for use by Cuyahoga County municipalities in developing their own customized community evacuation plan. Emergency Management is also providing technical assistance to municipalities, as needed, in the evacuation planning process. As of Q3 2021, the Cuyahoga County Office of Emergency Management has facilitated the completion of 37 community evacuation plans.

County Priority 10.2: Support regional approaches to public safety and law enforcement

Objective/Metric 1: Facilitate participation in the County’s Protection Order Registry by delivering outreach and training to law enforcement, courts, dispatch personnel and victim service providers. 

The Protection Order Registry is a web-based system designed to serve as a repository for different types of protection and no-contact orders issued against offenders by a Court on behalf of victims of violence. The project has been coordinated by Public Safety & Justice Services’ Witness Victim Services Division in partnership with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department. Upon completion, the system will enable police and select professionals within Cuyahoga County that participate in the justice system process on domestic violence or stalking cases with immediate access to information on active protection and no-contact orders. Increased access to information will improve awareness and enforcement capabilities, which in turn bolsters safety for victims. At present, project leaders are working with the vendor to complete development and to train system users and to formally engage additional participant agencies. As of Q3 2021, Witness Victim Services has provided one presentation to a potential system user agency. The Sheriff’s Department is also serving in a training capacity and has trained Sheriff Dispatchers on the system. Delivery of trainings and presentations is expected to accelerate in the coming months with the forthcoming launch of the system.  

Objective/Metric 2: Deliver training on use of the danger assessment-law enforcement tool to police departments.

When used by law enforcement, the danger assessment tool has been shown to be highly effective in identifying domestic violence situations that pose potential risk of lethality for the victim. PSJS Witness Victim Services received a federal grant to train law enforcement in the City of Cleveland on the use of a danger assessment tool. With training in all five districts of the Cleveland Division of Police complete, the project is now being expanded to law enforcement in Cuyahoga County’s suburban communities. As of Q3 2021, Witness Victim has provided training to two suburban law enforcement agencies.