October 19, 2018
Conservation Police Officer (CPO) Jordan Holmes was recently honored with the “Wildlife Officer of the Year” Award from the Shikar-Safari Club International. Each year the club sponsors an award for the wildlife officer of the year in all 50 states, 10 Canadian provinces, and the territories of both nations.
CPO Holmes was hired in 2008 and is currently assigned to the Northern Region. Due to vacancies, CPO Holmes has been responsible for covering multiple patrol areas for most of his career within the region. He has always shown the initiative to plan patrols and respond to complaints within the vacant areas without being asked. CPO Holmes has used his outgoing personality and willingness to make himself available to the public to cultivate informants. His strong-willed determination to our constituents has allowed him to make many high profile cases based on the information provided by the public and trusted informants.
One notable case CPO Holmes was essential to was the prosecution of a large investigation involving the commercialization of deer by a butcher shop. CPO Holmes coordinated the case with the New Jersey State Police, the Warren County Prosecutor's Office, the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office, the New Jersey Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory and the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
The settlement of the case resulted in a $1,000.00 fine, $4,000.00 in restitution for lab fees, a three-month suspension of his driving privileges, 120 hours of community service, forfeiture of $20,268.40 in cash recovered at the business and the forfeiture of approximately 1,200 vacuum sealed packages of processed venison. The processed venison was valued at over $6,500.00 and was donated to a local food pantry.
Conservation Police Officer Holmes continues to be a fine asset to the field of conservation law enforcement, and the Division of Fish and Wildlife takes pride in this recognition of his work.
The Shikar-Safari Club International was founded in 1952 by an international group of hunters interested in exchanging ideas about the sport.