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Community Policing Services & Programs
The Bay Village Police Department offers a wide variety of services and programs for the community.
Many of these programs have been suspended due to COVID-19. Please contact the Police Department to confirm.
- Cell Phone Collection
- Coffee with a Cop
- Community Police Academy
- Community Room
- E-Commerce Safety Zone
- Prescription Drug Drop Off
- Project ChildSafe Gun Lock Program
- Security Surveys
- Vacation Watch
- Westshore Explorers
Old and unused cell phones and cell phone equipment can be donated to the Bay Village Police Department. We partner with other local organizations to clean, equip, and donate the phones to battered women's shelters. This is often a crucial lifeline for victims to contact emergency services.
The Coffee with a Cop program is put on through the Bay Village Community Services Department. These free quarterly meetings are held at the Dwyer Memorial Senior Center and include a free lunch. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and learn about what is going on in the city. Guest lecturers often attend and present on important topics.
The Bay Village Police Department Community Police Academy is an annual course offered to Bay Village residents. This free course is held one night a week over 12 weeks. Participants learn about the Bay Village police "from the inside out" with classes ranging from police patrol, motor vehicle operations, use of force, and other law enforcement topics. Guest lecturers include judges, prosecutors, narcotics officers, and local experts.
For more information please call Sergeant Gillespie at 440-899-3973 or email Sergeant Rob Gillespie.
Police Station Community Room
The Community Room is a free space available for Bay Village civic groups and non-profit organizations. The meeting room can accommodate up to 50 people, tables and chairs are available upon request, and users are responsible for all clean-up. Please email Kristine Jones, Secretary to the Chief of Police, or call at 440-899-3413 for availability of the room.
The visitor parking lot and lobby of the Bay Village Police Department are designated E-Commerce trading spots. Individuals who buy or sell on the internet can choose to use our parking lot to make the exchange in a safe environment. This provides buyers and sellers the opportunity to make the exchange without providing their address to the other party.
This area is under 24-hour video surveillance and there is an individual at dispatch at all times. Signs indicating the e-commerce designation are posted.
Unused or expired medication can pose a risk to children, family members, and the environment. It can also be misused or abused, leading to serious complications, overdose, even death.
You can dispose of unused or expired medication safely, easily, confidentially, and for free in a Drug Collection Kiosk in the lobby of the Bay Village Police Department. The kiosk is open to all residents, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, with no questions asked. This is a safe, effective, and sustainable way to dispose of medications.
What is Collected?
- Prescription medications
- Over-the-counter medications
- Pet medications
- Sample medications
- Pills, capsules, inhalers, ointment, and patches
- Vitamins
What is not Collected?
- Liquids
- Needles and syringes
To dispose of liquids, we recommend that you pour the medication into cat litter or throw out, but DO NOT pour medications down a drain or flush them.
Check with your health care provider or facility to see if they have a take-back program for needles. If not, used needles and syringes from self-injections may be placed in the regular trash if certain precautions are followed. The precautions are designed to protect sanitation workers and other workers in the waste industry from being stuck by a needle.
- Place used needles and syringes in a rigid plastic container with a sealable lid such as a Sharps container or a plastic laundry detergent bottle with a screw top.
- Seal the lid with tape.
- Write "Caution: Sharps" on the container.
- Place the container in your regular trash. Do not place the container in with your recyclables.
Or consider using the Republic Services Sharps Disposal Service.
The Project ChildSafe Gun Lock Program is a free program for residents providing gun safety information and free gun locks. Information is available upon request at the Bay Village Police Department dispatch window or by calling 440-871-1234.
Home and Business Security Surveys
The Bay Village Police Department provides free home and business security surveys for residents and business owners. Specially trained officers who have completed numerous hours of training and are certified crime prevention specialists will come to your home or business for a security audit. Specialists employ the principles of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design to find weaknesses that may be used by criminals while breaking into the building. Please email Officer Scott Chase for more information.
Residents leaving on vacation may call the Bay Village Police Department at 440 871-1234 to leave names and numbers of emergency contacts in case of an emergency. Letting the Police Department know when you are away also enables us to check on vacant homes if there is any suspicious activity in the neighborhood.
The Westshore Explorer Program is a hands-on program open to young men and women between the ages of 14 and 18 who are interested in a career in law enforcement or a related field in the criminal justice system.
Post #18
The cities of Bay Village and Westlake have joined efforts to provide this program for the young adults in our community and the surrounding communities. Westshore Explorers Post #18 was established in 2015 and has 20 young adults in membership. Westshore Explorers have gone on several tours including the FBI and Westshore Bomb Squad. Westshore Explorers have bi-monthly meetings where they train and learn the policies of Bay Village and Westlake Police Departments. Explorers train in activities such as radio procedures, domestic crises, first aid, building searches, traffic stops, proper handling of a firearm, arrest and use of force, crime scene investigations and tactical training. This year our Explorers were able to compete in competition utilizing all of the training they have received.
Westshore Explorers participate and volunteer at a variety of public events throughout the year. Events range from crowd control at parades, providing security and uniformed presence during July 4th festivities, Shop with A Cop, Touch-A-Truck, and 5K races.
How to Get Involved
Westshore Explorers recruit new members every year through the high schools. Anyone interested in joining the Westshore Explorers or who has questions about the Explorers can speak to their school counselor, contact Officer Darren Ingham at 440-899-3647, or visit the Westshore Explorers Facebook page.