Captain Jason Simon is a 22-year veteran of the Youngstown, Ohio, Police Department. Presently, he is the chief of detectives and oversees all investigations, crime scenes, crime analysis, evidence, and records of the 200-person agency. Throughout his career, he has commanded the Patrol Division; Services, Planning, and Training Division; and Fiscal Unit. He has served as a supervisor in the Criminal Investigation Division, Street Crimes Unit, Auto Theft Unit, and Patrol. Captain Simon has been instrumental in modernizing and reshaping not only his own department but agencies throughout Ohio through intelligence-led policing implementation, community-police relations and outreach training, and technological innovations application, training, policy formation, best practices, and more. Much of Captain Simon’s work has centered on successfully merging academic research, community engagement, and practical law enforcement application, including its nationally-recognized Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) program and the highly-successful Community-Based Crime Reduction (CBCR) program. He has also been published in both academic and professional literature.

Captain Simon is a graduate of Youngstown State University and holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration, has attended Johns Hopkins Executive Leadership and Management training, and is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Academy (Session #264). Locally, he is on the Executive Board of the Youngstown City Schools Athletic Administration. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club, as well as on their Programming Committee and Property/Safety Committee. Nationally, he is a member of the Fraternal Order of Police, FBI National Academy Associates, High Technology Crimes Investigation Association, International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, and International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). Captain Simon also serves on the IACP’s Police Administration Committee, the IACP Policy Council Advisory Group, and is a consultant with the Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center (CRI-TAC).