North Kent News

From March 9, 2023

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) recently recognized two individuals as the 2022 employees of the year for their contributions to the Grand Rapids community and the department.

Officer of the Year 

Curtis Creighton –Detective Unit, Major Case Team

Officer Creighton obtained his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Ferris State University.  In 2000, he began his law enforcement career with the Schoolcraft County Sheriff’s Office and then worked for the Wyoming Police Department from 2002 - 2005 before being hired by GRPD.  During his first ten years with department, Officer Creighton worked on patrol in the North Neighborhood Service Area until he was assigned to the Detective Unit (DU) in 2015. His service with the DU includes two years with the General Case Team (property crimes and assaults), one year with the Family Services Team (criminal sexual conduct, domestic violence, and crimes against children), and the last four years as a member of the Major Case Team (homicides and attempted homicides). 

Officer Creighton has held additional duty assignments as a field training officer, background investigator, Crisis Negotiation Team member, and member of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. He is a graduate of the department’s Leadership Institute and during his tenure with GRPD, he has earned two Distinguished Service Medals, three Commendation Awards, two Team Performance Awards, one Meritorious Unit Citation, three Certificates of Recognition, and nine Letters of Recognition.  He was also nominated for Police Officer of the Year in 2014. 

Professional Staff Member of the Year 

Jennifer (Zobel) Sharp – Crime Analyst

Jennifer Sharp graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and then obtained her Master of Science in Law Enforcement Intelligence and Analysis from Michigan State University.  Prior to joining the Grand Rapids Police Department in 2019, Ms. Sharp worked as a crime analyst for the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO), for five years.  During that time, WCSO sponsored her attendance at the Wayne County Regional Police Academy, which she graduated from in 2016.  Although she was credentialed as a sworn officer, Ms. Sharp chose to stay in an analyst role, recognizing her strengths in working with data.  She appreciates her experience in the police academy, as it helped her to gain an understanding of how data can be used most effectively in supporting investigative and patrol functions. 

Ms. Sharp’s focus at GRPD is researching and implementing data-driven policing strategies that optimize resources and bolster proactive decision making. She is the primary analyst working with the Data Informed Community Policing (DICE) program to address long-term patterns of criminal activity in specific locations in the City and she helped create the recently-unveiled SPARC (Strategic Planning, Analysis and Response to Crime) to identify and combat emerging trends in criminal activity

Original source can be found here.