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SEARCH Annual Awards Spotlight Contributions, Commitment to Justice and Public Safety

Since 1985, SEARCH has honored the achievements of justice leaders and professionals with two prestigious annual awards that reflect our involvement in major national initiatives and collaborative partnerships with national organizations, legislative leaders, and justice and public safety agencies at all levels.

In 2011, SEARCH adopted a third award that formally recognizes the efforts and achievements of a member of Congress, or an elected or appointed leader in federal or state government who has exercised exemplary and outstanding leadership in promoting the effective and appropriate development of public safety or justice information law and policy with national implications.

The SEARCH Board of Directors selects the honorees, who are nominated by SEARCH Members and by past award recipients.

SEARCH is pleased to announce its award recipients for 2011:

• U.S. Representative Frank R. Wolf, R-Virginia (10th District), selected for the inaugural Justice Policy Leadership Award.
• Mr. David Gavin, Assistant Chief (retired), Administrative Division, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), selected for the O.J. Hawkins Award for Innovative Leadership and Outstanding Contributions in Criminal Justice Information Systems, Policy and Statistics.
• Mr. Francis X. "Paco" Aumand, Director, Criminal Justice Services, Vermont Department of Public Safety, selected for the Gary R. Cooper Meritorious Service Award.

The Justice Policy Leadership Award was presented to Congressman Wolf during a ceremony in his office on Capitol Hill on December 15, 2011.

The Hawkins Award was presented to Mr. Gavin at the SEARCH Membership Group's 2011 Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, on July 19.

The Cooper Award was presented to Mr. Aumand at the SEARCH Membership Group’s 2011 Winter Meeting in Arlington, Virginia, on January 25.

2011 Justice Policy Leadership Award

The Justice Policy Leadership Award recognizes an individual’s leadership and accomplishments in the area of criminal justice information law and policy. The individual’s actions and leadership demonstrate a support for the ideals of SEARCH in this area, particularly supporting national data sharing models and standards.

The 2011 recipient, Congressman Frank R. Wolf, has served in Congress for over 30 years and in that time he has supported many initiatives that have helped make our nation safer. Congressman Wolf was chosen for this award because his passion for public safety directly aligns with the ideals of SEARCH. Just as information sharing is the cornerstone of the work of SEARCH, it is supported and encouraged by Congressman Wolf as well.

Examples of his efforts include securing funding to establish a training center for first responders; supporting several anti-gang initiatives and pushing for the creation of the National Gang Intelligence Center at the FBI; helping to focus attention on reducing recidivism with data-driven, fiscally responsible policies and practices; and supporting the adoption of the Council of State Governments’ strategies to enhance public safety.

2011 Hawkins Award

The O.J. Hawkins Award is SEARCH's highest honor, and it formally acknowledges an individual's service, dedication, and contributions that have improved the justice community's ability to develop and use criminal justice information. In particular, past recipients of the O.J. Hawkins Award have made outstanding contributions that have a broad-ranging impact, often affecting multiple states, justice disciplines, or branches of government.

It is the only nationally recognized, competitive award for contributions in the field of criminal justice information management, and is named for Orville J. (Bud) Hawkins, who was SEARCH's first Chairman and Executive Director.

Mr. Gavin is a 33-year veteran of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and from 1991–2010, served as Assistant Chief of its Administrative Division. Prior to his retirement last year, Mr. Gavin also served in a variety of leadership capacities during his 18-year association with the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division (CJIS) advisory process.

In selecting Mr. Gavin for this honor, the SEARCH Board is recognizing his pivotal role in implementing critical national information sharing systems of the FBI, including the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), and NCIC 2000. He is also recognized for his participation in the FBI CJIS Advisory Policy Board (APB), where he provided critical oversight and input to national data exchange initiatives, and for his exceptional leadership that helped form effective communication partnerships.

Mr. Gavin was nominated for the award by previous Hawkins Award recipients Mr. Thomas E. Bush III (2010) and Mr. David R. Loesch (2002), both of whom are former Assistant Directors of the FBI CJIS Division.

For more details on Mr. Gavin’s selection, read the Awards news announcement.

2011 Cooper Award

The Gary R. Cooper Award honors a SEARCH Member whose work in the field of criminal justice information systems, policy or statistics has been outstanding. The Award, renamed in 2003 to honor long-time SEARCH Executive Director Gary R. Cooper (retired), enables SEARCH Members to recognize one of their colleagues for contributions both to the field of criminal justice information and to the success of SEARCH.

The 2011 Cooper Award recipient, Mr. Aumand, has served as the Vermont representatives to the Membership Group since 1996, and ended a six-year stint as Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2010. He has served on many SEARCH committees, was a member of the National Task Force on the Criminal Backgrounding of America, and is a current member of the Board.

He was selected for the award to recognize his professional accomplishments, his dedication and contributions to SEARCH, and his service as a leader — whether that leadership involved the State of Vermont, the SEARCH Membership, or on national information sharing, policy, and privacy initiatives.

At an address to SEARCH Members in 2009, United States Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) noted that he has worked with Mr. Aumand for years, and has turned to him for advice time and again. Senator Leahy noted that Mr. Aumand’s advice has been reflected in legislation on issues ranging from criminal background check systems, school safety, child protection laws, sex offender registries, and the pursuit and detection of offenders.

“Senator Leahy said, “Time and time again, myself or my staff would come to Paco and ask, ‘How would this work in reality?’ Because we know we’re going to get a straight answer from him. …I think Paco’s work has led to better criminal justice and better public safety policy nationwide.”

The SEARCH Board recognized Mr. Aumand’s leadership at the helm of SEARCH for the better part of the past decade, particularly on efforts to ensure the continued strength and evolution of the organization. He also supported Membership debate about emerging issues and public policy matters in the States, including topics affecting how criminal history record information is collected and distributed, and the role of repositories.

Past recipients of the Gary R. Cooper Meritorious Service Award have represented state-level justice and public safety agencies and programs in 20 states and the District of Columbia.

Read this news announcement for further details on Mr. Aumand’s selection for the Cooper Award, which was presented to him by SEARCH Chairman Captain Tom Turner in Washington, D.C. on January 25, 2011.