COMMERCE TOWNSHIP, MI, January 23, 2024 - April Dawn Switala has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Sgt. Switala is a police sergeant, leader, mental health trainer and advocate at the Bloomfield Township Police Department, where she has served and focused on integrating and establishing mental health education and policy changes for more than two decades. The first in her family to earn a college degree, she attended Schoolcraft College and earned an associate's degree in criminal justice. Thereafter, she attended Eastern Michigan University, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor in criminal justice in 1998. While working toward her degrees, she became a member of the Michigan Army National Guard as a military police officer in the Army, a position she held from 1995 to 2003. She attended Fort McClellan, AL basic training and advanced individual training.
In November 1998, Sgt. Switala graduated from the Wayne County Regional Police Academy and began her career with the Bloomfield Township Police Department as a police officer. During her tenure she filled various roles including investigations and field training officer, in which she was responsible for training new recruits. She was recognized several times by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) as Officer of the Year for her agency due to her drunk driving investigations. In addition to her patrol duties, Sgt. Switala has written policy and evaluated programs, developed and implemented performance evaluations, and was a member of the Accreditation Committee. As a member of the Accreditation Committee, Sgt. Switala assisted her agency in meeting and exceeding various police policy standards of transparency and professionalism. She has also received the Chief's Merit Award twice and honorable mentions for various criminal arrests.
In 2020, Sgt. Switala was promoted to the rank of police sergeant, a career path born from both the support of her family and her desire to be a role model who could empower other women to join the police force. Throughout her career at Bloomfield Township Police Department, Sgt. Switala strived to make a difference in the system and contribute to mental health space and education.
In 2021, Sgt. Switala became a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) coordinator trained by CIT International. This was in an effort to begin a multi-jurisdictional team called CoRe that partnered several police agencies with the county health authority. CoRe for Co-Response, was the first to hire a co-response social worker to respond to police calls with officers in Oakland County. Sgt. Switala is one of the original CoRe team members, wrote the policy for that team, and continues to act as the Coordinator for her agency. Sgt. Switala was a presenter at the 2023 CIT International Conference and at the Michigan Association of College Law Enforcement Administrators Conference.
In 2022 Sgt. Switala continued to expand her education. She attended CIT International train-the-trainer and is now an instructor and police facilitator partner in Oakland County's training unit. The team trains Oakland County police officers in crisis de-escalation skills for police interacting with people experiencing a mental health crisis. Sgt. Switala was invited to Oakland County's CIT Advisory Board. The Board brings community stakeholders together to promote the premise that law enforcement, the judicial system, and the public health network work together to get people the help they need during a crisis. The Board strives to address system disparities and identify areas of improvement through education, networking, and community outreach.
Moreover, in 2021 she became a Mental Health First Aid instructor and trains officers and the public in how to assist their peers, family, or community members in dealing with mental health issues by watching for early warning signs and symptoms and removing the stigma from the discussion. This training is the pillar of the Bloomfield Township Peer Support Team, which Sgt. Switala is a founding member and policy writer. She is trained in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) and Group Crisis Intervention (GRIN) through the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. This training looks to provide support services specific to emergency responders who experience trauma related to their profession. Sgt. Switala has been quoted in "Living Blue" a book on police officer stress and wellness.
Outside of her involvement in the police department, Sgt. Switala is a wife and mother. She enjoys the outdoors, exercise, cooking, and gardening. She volunteers with the Havanese Angel League Organization (HALO) as a foster for rescued dogs. In all she has accomplished over the course of her career to date, she attributes her success to her personal drive to make her community a better place. In all she has set out to change, Sgt. Switala is proud to be involved in a movement to remove the stigma from discussions of mental health, to treat people compassionately, and to ensure police officers understand the mental health system and the resources available to them for their community. Looking forward to her approaching retirement within the next year and a half, she will leave behind a legacy that has and will continue to positively impact her community and the organizations she served in.
About Marquis Who's Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Marquis celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2023, and Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
Contact Information
Marquis Who's Who Ventures LLC
Uniondale, NY
USA
Voice: 844-394-6946
