The University of Akron welcomed crime analysts, law enforcement personnel and public safety partners from across Northern Ohio for the Northern Ohio Violent Crime Consortium’s 2026 Annual Training event, held Aug. 10–14 in the Polsky Building.

Managed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the consortium brings together law enforcement agencies, universities and subject matter experts to help prevent and reduce violent crime through collaboration, intelligence-sharing, training and evidence-based practices.

Dr. Sarah St. George, associate professor of criminal justice studies, brought the training to UA and continues to coordinate the annual event.

Led by instructors Dr. Cory Haberman, Amanda Bruner and Charley Giberti of BDE Analytics, this year's five-day program focused on technical skills used in crime analysis and public safety. Training covered Excel, Python, SQL, Power BI, database integration, ArcGIS Pro and related analytical workflows.

Dr. David Licate, chair of the Department of Criminal Justice Studies, and University of Akron Police Chief Jim Gilbride (pictured above) both delivered presentations during the event.

Attendees participated from several local and federal law enforcement/public safety partners including the Akron Police Department, Bedford Heights Police Department, Brook Park Police Department, Case Western, Cleveland Division of Police, Euclid Police Department, FBI, Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), Lorain Police Department and Mansfield Police Department.

Several UA partners helped make the training possible. Wayne Brummert, manager of UA's User Support Services/IT User Services, assisted with laboratory and technology logistics. Janet Kropff, interim chair of Computer Science and Computer Information Systems in the College of Engineering and Polymer Science, provided access to the computer labs used during the training.

The training, coordinated by St. George, was supported by grants 2023-PS-PSN-19865 and 2023-JAG 2023, awarded by the Office of Criminal Justice Services and the Bureau of Justice Assistance.