Each year, a law enforcement representative is selected to receive the Cumberland County Victim Advocacy Award for Law Enforcement. Recipients are nominated and selected by advocates, prosecutors and sometimes fellow officers within the County. This award is presented to a law enforcement representative for their outstanding service to all victims, each and every day. The theme for 2020 was – Seek Justice | Ensure Victims' Rights | Inspire Hope. Our 2020 recipient was nothing short of that exact theme.

While we didn’t have the opportunity to properly present this award in 2020, we are so happy to FINALLY be able to do so. I am honored to present the 2020 Cumberland County Victim Advocacy Award for Law Enforcement to Officer Ryan McClure of the Camp Hill Borough Police Department.

Officer McClure attended Lycoming College where he played football and graduated with his Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice in 2013. Following his college football glory days, he put himself through the Police Academy at Harrisburg Area Community College and graduated in 2014. Camp Hill Borough Police Department hired him shortly after graduating from the police academy and it didn’t take long for his drive to serve Cumberland County to become engrained into his law enforcement career.  In 2017, he joined and continues to be an active and involved member of the Cumberland County Special Response Team and has also participated in the Cumberland County Drug Task Force on a part-time basis.

From the Victim Services perspective, the 2020 theme - Seek Justice | Ensure Victims' Rights | Inspire Hope is a theme that is seen daily in Officer McClure’s interactions with victims and the Cumberland County community. In 2019, he exemplified the meaning of seeking justice for victims when he, along with the assistance of the Cumberland County Office of Aging and the Cumberland County Criminal Investigation Division, investigated a financial exploitation case of a 92 year old victim.

Through the extensive investigation, Officer McClure advocated wholeheartedly for this victim. From taking the initial complaint, he immediately recognized the needs of the victim, made accommodations, took the time to listen to the victim while showing compassion and understanding, and did all of the investigative legwork from start to finish. Officer McClure dedicated hours both on and off duty to ensure the victim’s voice was heard and that a proper investigation was executed. All of which led him to the defendant, a trusted family member to the victim who was responsible for overseeing the victim’s finances.

Officer McClure was able to file charges that demonstrated the defendant stole over $100,000 from the 92 year old victim for the defendant’s own personal use. Because of the thorough investigation, the defendant subsequently pled guilty and was sentenced.  This further saved the victim from having to relive the pain of the crime committed against her.

Jonathan Mays, Chief of the Cumberland County Criminal Investigation Division stated, “Officer McClure’s patience, kindness, and service to the victim is a credit to both himself and the Camp Hill Borough Police Department.  It demonstrates to our community that victims of all ages deserve to be heard and they are worthy of the best efforts of the criminal justice system.”

Having had the opportunity to work with Officer McClure since the beginning of my career in 2015, it is no surprise that he is a recipient of an award of this magnitude. We have a long standing joke when it comes to our victim related cases, “Now who is the advocate again?” I say this only because he routinely goes above and beyond for every single victim he interacts with.

Please join me in recognizing our 2020 recipient of the Cumberland County Victim Advocacy Award for Law Enforcement, Officer Ryan McClure.