COLUMBUS, Ind. – A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was entered into between the Columbus Police Department (CPD), the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office earlier this month to expand CPD’s successful Intelligence Led Policing Unit which began in 2017.
The new Intelligence Led Policing (ILP) team will have two primary functions. Firstly, investigations will be conducted by officers from CPD as well as Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department. The second function is potential prosecution, which will be handled by the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office who has assigned Deputy Prosecutor Lindsey Holden Kay to provide direct oversight to ILP cases involving property crimes which are often committed by repeat offenders.
Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop said, “It just makes sense to collectively work with the prosecutor’s office and sheriff’s office to make an even greater impact on our crime reduction efforts.” Columbus Chief of Police Jon Rohde added, “This partnership will help coordinate our efforts county-wide, and provide a direct link to the prosecutor’s office.” Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers responded, “Property crime doesn’t stop at the city limits. Frequently you will find the same suspects in the city and the county. This is a good plan of attack in Bartholomew County.”