Crispen joined the Whitehall Division of Police in September 2016.
He is a 23-year veteran of Highway Patrol. Prior to his start there, he spent six years in the Army and served two tours of duty -- one as part of Desert Storm and the other in Panama during Noriega’s removal from power.
Most recently, Crispen has served as Captain in charge of the state’s Licensing and Commercial Standards division. During his tenure with OSHP, he has held numerous positions, including field commander for Scioto, Ross and Pike counties and instructor with the Ohio State Highway Patrol Academy.
He also worked on a program to increase efficiency within the overall Ohio State Highway Patrol, serves as chair of a national committee focused on roadside inspection and truck safety and has authored a book about psychology for officers dealing with confrontations.
Crispen has served as an instructor for 11 years at Ohio University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and most recently an executive master’s degree in public administration from the university’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs. Though his master’s research focused on agency efficiency and evaluation, Crispen worked closely with one of his instructors on an initiative to teach truck drivers to spot the signs of human trafficking. That partnership resulted in a change in Ohio administrative code that went into effect last month requiring all truck driving schools in the state to teach a human trafficking awareness course.
Crispen and his wife are parents to three adult children and now grandparents to two.