The Mayor brought Givens, a former Akron chief of police, back to work for the city with the mission of having Givens report to him within 12-18 months on ways services could be improved by having the Akron Police Department work more closely with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.

"It’s time to spend more time with the grandchildren," said Givens. "I’ll be 63 in August and I want to get started on retirement for real this time."

Givens, whose last day on the job will be May 1 said he feels "very fortunate" to have had the opportunity to come back and work with the police department one more time. "I have been impressed by what I have seen. We have terrific men and women in the APD, and Akronites should be proud of their police force."

Givens said he will be submitting a report to the Mayor prior to leaving to detail for him what he has accomplished, including:

• Combining the APD Narcotics Unit with the Summit County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Unit into one of the largest drug task forces in the state;
• Establishing a team of supervisors from both law enforcement agencies to advise ways that both can work more effectively, including the recommendation to locate both agencies’ computer forensics personnel in common offices.  This will  result in a savings on expensive computer equipment and improve investigative work on  computer-based crimes;
• Investigating co-locating the APD/SCSO property rooms, and the possibility of combining training functions;
• Reached agreement between both agencies to work collaboratively on major cases

"Larry has worked with the leadership of both our police department and the sheriff’s office, as I had directed him, so we could determine how to work more collaboratively and effectively together," said Plusquellic. "The goal is to prevent and fight crime and create efficiencies that will result in a savings of tax dollars for our community and more officers to patrol the neighborhood streets of Akron."

Givens was Akron’s chief of police from 1992 until his retirement in January 1996. He was elected to serve on the Summit County Council in 1999-2000. After the election of Drew Alexander as sheriff, Givens left office to become assistant sheriff, a position which he held until retiring from it July 1, 2007.

"Larry Givens, in his many years working for our city, has helped provide a bridge to better and more efficient services for the citizens of Akron," said the Mayor.

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