An Examination of the Relationship Between Drugs and Crime in the Midwest
Each year, we publish an annual report to inform the community of our activities. The data we supply for the FBI Uniform Crime Report is featured, as well as our programs and initiatives.
Note: Our Annual Reports cover a calendar year. They are issued in the first quarter of the new year.
The Citizens Police Academy is an interesting and exciting way for the community to learn more about law enforcement through the experience of the Ottumwa Police Department. Through classroom lectures, hands-on experience and demonstrations, the Citizens Police Academy builds a bond of mutual trust and respect between the Police Department and our citizens.
The Ottumwa Police Department and the Ottumwa Community School District partner together in the School Resource Officer Program. During the school year, three officers are assigned to the school district. The officers' presence helps to reduce the potential for crime-related problems and helped to provide a safer environment for both students and staff. An additional benefit of the program is increased interaction between students and the Officers.
The department has an Officer assigned to instruct the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program (D.A.R.E.) in the Elementary schools 5th grade classes. The D.A.R.E. Program is an integral part of the Department's community policing initiative as well as the Ottumwa Community School District's substance abuse prevention curriculum. Our Officers also present the Gang Resistance Education And Training Program (G.R.E.A.T.). The G.R.E.A.T. Program is a school-based, law enforcement Officer-instructed classroom curriculum. The Porgram's primary objective is to help prevent delinquency, youth violence, and gang membership.
We work with several other law enforcement agencies to identify, investigate, apprehend and prosecute drug and drug related criminal offenders in its seven county area. This multi-jurisdictional team targets drug manufacturers and traffickers through shared investigatory and prosecutorial resources. Our expected outcome is to reduce the availability and demand for controlled substances in Southeast Iowa.
Ottumwa partners with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to manage an annual in-city deer hunt. This has proven to be an effective way to safely control the deer herd within the city limits, reducing vehicle accidents and property damage caused by deer.
Back in 1851, the founders of Ottumwa saw the need to establish law and order in their frontier town along the river. Since that time, law enforcement has changed and grown with the community.
The 2025 Citizens Police Academy applications are now available. Be sure to have them turned in by January 1, 2025 at 3:00 p.m.
On Tuesday, June 28, 2022 at approximately 4:24 p.m., Officers responded to the area of East Main and Brick Row on a report that a male was bleeding from his head and neck.
On Thursday, April 28, 2022, at approximately 8:06 p.m., the Ottumwa Police Department received a report of a suspicious male who was attempting to lure a child into his car.
On Wednesday, February 23, 2022, at approximately 8:11 p.m., the Ottumwa Police Department responded to 424 N. Court, Apartment 3, Ottumwa, on a report that a male had been shot at this address.
The Ottumwa Police Department would like request the assistance of the public regarding a missing person investigation. On August 28, 2019, Timothy William-Michal Fortney was reported missing to the police department. At the time he was reported missing, Fortney had not been seen for over a year.
The Ottumwa Police Department has dedicated and professional men and women who strive to deliver the best possible law enforcement service to the citizens of Ottumwa. The Police Department is authorized to have 42 sworn positions. Five of these positions are ancillary and are not fully funded by the city’s general fund. These positions include two investigators assigned to the southeast Iowa Inter-Agency drug Task Force and three officers assigned as School Resource Officers. Currently there are 39 sworn officers working for the department, two officers attending the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy and one officer beginning the Patrol Training Program.
Chief of Police