Chief Daniel J. Weckesser
Chief Daniel J. Weckesser has been elected by the citizens of Knox County as Knox County's new Sheriff effective January 2025. Chief Weckesser has stepped down as the Police Chief of our Department effective November 2nd. We congratulate Chief Weckesser on being elected Knox County's next Sheriff and wish him the best in this next step of his career. We look forward to working with him over the coming years. All of the Danville Police Department officers thank you Chief Weckesser for the expert leadership you have given us over the ten years you were our Police Chief.
Chief Monte L. Vance (Interim)
Monte L. Vance has been appointed by Mayor Mazzari as Safety Service Director/Police Chief (Interim) to fill the vacancy created when Chief Weckesser stepped down. Monte Vance is a 42-year police veteran who has served in the role over the past 42 years as a patrol officer, sergeant, captain, and chief of police from 1999 to 2015 when he retired as chief in 2015. He maintained his commission since 2015 with the department assisting Chief Weckesser with administrative duties and now has come out of retirement to act as Safety Service Director/Police Chief (Interim). Interim Chief Vance says he looks forward to renewing past acquaintances, creating new ones, and assisting the Village of Danville and its Police Department in moving forward. Interim Chief Vance wishes Chief Weckesser the very best in his upcoming tenure as Knox County Sheriff and looks forward to working with him to provide the citizens of Knox County with the best law enforcement service possible. He says that Chief Weckesser has made the Danville Community proud in his service as their Police Chief over the past 10 years and will strive to continue adding to the great work he did during the time he's Interim Police Chief.
Lt. Travis Thomas & Argo
Thanks for the local support in obtaining our newest Department member, K-9 Argo. Lt. Travis Thomas is partnered with Argo.
For more information click below.
Det. John Bartolucci
We want to acknowledge the exemplary work that our own Det. John Bartolucci has done and for the recognition he received from the United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations for his team's great work in the rescue of a minor victim of child sexual abuse and the arrest of the offender.
Det. Bartolucci is a part-time Detective for the Danville Police Department and is instrumental in investigating an array of crimes including internet crimes here locally. Det. Bartolucci is full-time with the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Franklin County where he is assigned as a Task Force Officer with the United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Secret Service doing investigations and Digital Forensics. We are proud of the work that Det. Bartolucci has done getting sexual pedophiles off our streets so they can no longer victimize our youth.
Officer Travis Thomas
Sworn in by Mayor Joe Mazzari as our newest member of the police force on Sept. 28, 2023.
Welcome to Officer Thomas!
Chief Daniel J. Weckesser of the Danville Police Department is proud to announce the deployment of new technology in pursuit of furthering criminal prosecution of technology-related crimes. The new equipment, valued at over $11,000, was purchased with funds from the Ohio ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) Task Force, a federal anti-crime initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. It is a collaboration of city, county, state, and federal law enforcement authorities across Ohio whose mission is to identify, arrest, and prosecute individuals who use the Internet to lure minors into illicit sexual relationships or use the Internet to produce, distribute, or solicit child pornography.
Detective John Bartolucci with the Danville Police Department, who is also a member of the United States Secret Service, FBI, and Ohio ICAC Task Forces, is tasked with heading up the agency's spearhead initiative against internet and cyber crimes, especially those against children. Bartolucci, a Danville native who graduated from Danville High School in 2003, has gone on to work in law enforcement for over 17 years and is now an FBI Certified Cyber Investigator and a Certified Computer and Mobile Forensic Examiner, as well as an NW3C Internet Crimes Analyst. “This equipment is going to be an integral part of combating a new type of crime in society that is going to only get worse,” said Bartolucci. The equipment includes a specialized computer, software, and related equipment specially designed to investigate and handle sensitive digital evidence, as well as forensically examine computers and mobile devices.
According to Chief Weckesser, “Our area has had access to some of this type of equipment through the Mount Vernon Police Department, but now we will have more capabilities and it will be more widespread and available with faster processing times and case turnaround." Bartolucci added, “This equipment isn't just for Danville, it's a resource for all of our area agencies. As part of the federal task forces, I am assigned to all of southern Ohio and we will assist any agency that needs help during an investigation, whether it's a phone call for technical assistance or on-scene assistance in collecting or processing digital evidence, whatever is needed to help combat the issue and bring offenders to justice, especially if they are exploiting or abusing children." “As cell phones have become more common for our youth, we have seen a notable increase in child exploitation cases and cases involving child-explicit material here in Danville," said Weckesser. “Additionally, we take a call of an internet-related crime at least once a week, some of which have resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in loss from the victims; it's time we start addressing these issues head-on and working on solving these cases and bringing the offenders to justice,” Weckesser continued.
With internet crimes jumping from $4.2 billion in 2020 to over $6.9 billion in 2021, according to the FBI's annual internet crime report, there is no questioning that this is a significant issue. Bartolucci states he has had some success in the time he has been assigned to these cases, but they are difficult and very time-sensitive. “If you think you are the victim of one of these types of crimes, I encourage you to call your local law enforcement agency as soon as you can, these cases require swift action,” advised Bartolucci. “With that said, I want to thank Ohio ICAC for the equipment and for helping our agency move forward with our mission to pursue all types of internet and cyber crimes,” added Weckesser.
Chief Weckesser and Detective Bartolucci want you to practice being safe on the internet and encourage you to report these types of crimes not only to your local law enforcement agency but also to the FBI's Internet Crimes Complaint Center at: www.IC3.gov For more information on how to protect yourself and your children on the internet visit: www.FTC.gov and www.OhioICAC.org