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Awards

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

For nearly a quarter century, 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.

Each award is selected by the SEARCH Board of Directors early in the year and is handed out at ceremonies coinciding with SEARCH's Membership Group Meetings. Individuals are nominated by SEARCH Members and by past award recipients.

Cooper Award Recipient

SEARCH is pleased to announce the first of the 2009 recipients of these prestigious awards: Captain Thomas Turner, Division Commander of the Criminal Justice Information Services Division, Virginia State Police, who has been selected to receive the 2009 Gary R. Cooper Meritorious Service Award.

The 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.

Captain Turner was presented with this award at a reception and dinner on April 14, 2009, in Sacramento, coinciding with SEARCH's Spring Membership Group Meeting and the first of its 40th anniversary celebrations.


(The other top SEARCH honor is the O.J. Hawkins Award for Outstanding Contributions in Criminal Justice Information Systems, Policy and Statistics in the United States, which will be presented at SEARCH's Fall Membership Group Meeting/40th Anniversary Dinner in November 2009 in Washington, D.C. The Board has selected a recipient, who will be announced at a later date. See here for a list of past O.J. Hawkins Award recipients.)

Outstanding Leadership Noted
Captain Turner, a SEARCH Member since 2000, was selected to recognize his outstanding leadership in promoting effective information sharing within the justice community. He has been a strong and steady contributor to the development of national policies and programs that support the use of criminal justice information in the furtherance of public safety.

Captain Turner has demonstrated important leadership qualities, given freely of his time and expertise, and shown a strong commitment to SEARCH and the national criminal justice information management community. At SEARCH, he has:

• served as a member on the Law and Policy Program Advisory Committee (PAC)
• served on the Board of Directors for several terms
• is the current Vice Chair of the Board of Directors and Membership Group
• chaired the Planning Committee Carver Governance Methodology Training Retreat for the Board of Directors
• chaired the PROTECT Act Ad Hoc Advisory Committee.

Outside of SEARCH, he serves as 2nd Vice Chair of the FBI CJIS Advisory Policy Board and as a member of the NEC AFIS User Group.

Captain Turner was nominated for this award by Vermont Member Francis X. Aumand III, who is also Chair of the SEARCH Board and Membership Group.

In his nomination letter, Mr. Aumand noted, "[Captain Turner] is consistently pushing to expand SEARCH's partnerships and works to include SEARCH is many different functions. Tom also has been a willing partner in going to Washington to advocate for interests that are germane to our Members and SEARCH. Tom often sits silently at meetings strategizing on how best to move our agenda forward and when he speaks his credibility often causes people to listen. I consider Tom Turner to be an 'unsung hero' working behind the scene of many of activities."

Past Recipients
Recipients of the Gary R. Cooper Meritorious Service Award have represented state-level justice and public safety agencies and programs in 17 states and the District of Columbia. See here for past recipients.