XENIA — The Xenia Police Division has been certified by Ohio Criminal Justice Services after it adopted and implemented new standards.

The XPD is one of more than 330 agencies that are re either certified or in the process of becoming certified by meeting standards including the use of force, including deadly force, and agency recruitment and hiring established by the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board as part of the state’s efforts to strengthen community and police relations.

The standards — which also include body worn cameras, community engagement and law enforcement telecommunicator training — are the first of their kind in Ohio and were developed by the Collaborative in August 2015. Each standard has four elements — policy/procedure, knowledge/awareness, proficiency, and compliance — according to the collaborative’s website.

The state has partnered with the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association and the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police to help certify Ohio’s nearly 1,000 law enforcement agencies on a process to ensure that they are in compliance with Ohio’s new standards.

The first list of all Ohio compliant agencies will be published in March 2017. To be included in the report, agencies must submit a compliance application to the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services by Feb. 1.