- April 19, 2024
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OBPD's Community Outreach Officer Jay Brennan will soon be recognized as Florida's 2017 Crime Prevention Practitioner of the Year at the upcoming 2017 Crime Prevention Conference in Sarasota, Fla.
Brennan was nominated by OBPD Captain Lisa Rosenthal and Evelyn Rebostini, an officer from the Victim Advocate program, based on his accomplishments in the department's outreach program. He was also recommended for the award by Wesley Porter, an assistant eight grade principal at Ormond Beach Middle School.
“He is the epitome of crime prevention for the city of Ormond," Rosenthal said.
In her recommendation letter, Rosenthal wrote that Brennan "has brought innovation, passion and creativity to the Ormond Beach Police Department's Outreach Unit." She also wrote "Officer Brennan never stops at finding or developing new ways to have a positive impact on people's lives."
For Brennan, the award is a validation that people believe in what he's doing.
“It’s why I go to work every day and it means something that they think of me in that way," Brennan said.
He said when he used to out on patrol, he'd build relationships with the people he encountered. Combining that with the resources the department has is a way to have effective policing, Brennan said.
“You can’t just sit in a car and look at a computer and think that crimes can be solved that way," Brennan said. "And having the community behind it is vital. There’s no way we would be able to do what we do without them.”
He said the success of Ormond Beach's crime prevention and outreach efforts is not just due to him, but all the officers that attend the events, the community that backs them and the department's administration.
“I think that for the community it’s important because they think that we only react, but we’re being proactive in so many ways," Brennan said. "Yeah, it’s important to me and I’ve never been more proud.”
Rosenthal said Brennan's award wasn't unexpected since she has a front row seat to everything he does for the community. She said that when comparing other agencies' outreach program's to OBPD's, they're "almost nonexistent."
“Of all the years I’ve been here, which is going on 22 years, I’ve never seen anybody run the outreach program like he does," Rosenthal said. "So I wasn’t surprised.”
Brennan will receive his award during the Florida Crime Prevention Association Awards Ceremony Dinner on Oct. 16. He will also be attending the conference.
