Sheriff Will Akin received Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City's 2023 Agency Partnership Award on behalf of the Clay County Missouri Sheriff's Office.
HSI-Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho presented the award Feb 10, according to a Feb. 23 news release.
"I'd like to thank Clay County Missouri Sheriff's Office and the professional men and women from both agencies for the strong partnership that exists between us," Cho said in the news release. "This award is but a token of the gratitude our agency has for the variety of mission essential resources Clay County Missouri Sheriff's Office provides throughout the year."
Resource sharing also is part of shared goals, Cho said, according to the release.
"Resources such as task force officers, subject matter experts, cross training and joint investigations — all of which empower both agencies to achieve our law enforcement goals and keep our community safe in a more efficient and effective manner," Cho said in the release.
The partnership goes both ways, Akin said, according to the news release.
"Our partnership with HSI-Kansas City has been instrumental in our efforts to combat human trafficking in Clay County," Akin said in the release. "They're ready to assist and provide resources whenever we need their help on all kinds of investigations, and that relationship makes our community safer."
HSI-Kansas City presents the partnership award each year to a team that promotes and supports agency collaboration. Teams are best noted for concluding successful talks and agreements with interagency partners, developing interagency initiatives and programs that strengthen homeland security efforts and supporting collaborative law enforcement actions to strengthen such efforts, according to the news release.
HSI is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's primary investigative division charged with investigating threats and transnational crime, particularly criminal groups who prey upon worldwide networks in international travel, trade and finance, the release reported. The more than 8,700 people employed by HSI are divided between more than 7,000 special agents stationed in 93 sites abroad in 56 countries and 237 cities around the U.S.
One of the biggest worldwide footprints in U.S. law enforcement, HSI's presence abroad is the greatest investigative law enforcement presence outside of DHS, according to the release.
