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SEARCH Annual Awards Spotlight Leadership and Contributions to Justice and Public Safety
Each year, SEARCH bestows annual awards to honor a select group of justice professionals whose achievements and leadership exemplify SEARCH ideals of improving information use, management, and exchange among justice and public safety agencies.
The SEARCH Board of Directors selects the honorees, who are nominated by SEARCH Members and past award recipients. The select group is recognized in three broad categories of leadership: justice policy, practitioner, and SEARCH Membership.
Award recipients are selected at the Winter Meeting in January each year, and presented at the Annual Meeting in July. We are pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has selected our 2018 award nominees—see their featured profiles below. We will salute these honorees during an awards ceremony at SEARCH’s 2018 Annual Meeting the evening of July 24 in Washington, D.C.
Justice Policy Leadership
The Justice Policy Leadership Award 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.
Past recipients are Ms. Laurie Robinson, Assistant Attorney General (former), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice (2012); and U.S. Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA) (2011).
Practitioner
The O.J. Hawkins Award for Innovative Leadership and Outstanding Contributions in Criminal Justice Information Systems, Policy and Statistics is SEARCH’s highest practitioner honor. 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, award recipients 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 Chair and Executive Director.
SEARCH began presenting the Hawkins Award in 1985. Check out the list of all past recipients, who include former U.S. Senators and Representatives, an FBI Director, an Attorney General, private-sector experts, and justice agency and organization officials at the state, Federal, and national levels.
Membership
The Gary R. Cooper Award for Meritorious Service honors a SEARCH Member whose work in the field of criminal justice information systems, policy or statistics has been outstanding. The award, named after 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.
SEARCH began presenting the Cooper Award in 1985. Check out a list of all past recipients, who have represented state-level justice and public safety agencies and programs in 22 States and the District of Columbia. The Board has chosen not to bestow this award in 2018.
2018 Hawkins Award
Congratulations to Ms. Donna Uzzell, Special Agent in Charge, Statewide Investigation Services, Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The SEARCH Board has selected her to receive the 2018 O.J. Hawkins Award for Innovative Leadership and Outstanding Contributions in Criminal Justice Information Systems, Policy and Statistics.
Read more about Ms. Uzzell’s long career of service and leadership to improve criminal justice and public safety information sharing, which has earned her SEARCH’s top practitioner honor.
2018 Justice Policy Leadership Award
Congratulations to the Honorable John Cornyn, United States Senator (R-TX), who was selected by the SEARCH Board to receive the 2018 Justice Policy Leadership Award.
Read about Senator Cornyn’s outstanding leadership to promote public safety and justice information sharing, including his tireless efforts to improve the NICS.