​Since October 2000, Cindy Vanderwyst has been the Victim/Witness Advocate for the Strongsville Police Department and Program Coordinator of the Strongsville Magistrate Community Diversion Program. Cindy works under the direction of Sgt. Pat Russo.
Cindy, who is a Registered Advocate with Advanced Standing with the Ohio Advocate Network, works with victims and witnesses to crimes, offering support information, guidance, referrals and any other help needed to get them through their often-traumatic experiences and successful journeys through the criminal justice system.
As Program Coordinator for the Strongsville Magistrate Community Diversion Program, Cindy oversees the judicial process of those juveniles who have been charged with their first misdemeanor crimes and status offenses. Instead of these juveniles being charged formally into Juvenile Court, they are given the opportunity to enter this Diversion Program wherein their cases are heard by a Magistrate for the Court. The Magistrate imposes sanctions on the juveniles, which must be fulfilled in an appropriate and timely manner. Cindy works with the Case Manager of the Community Diversion Program, the YMCA, in trying to attain positive conclusions to the juveniles' cases.
Cindy also works as the liaison between the Strongsville Police Department and Strongsville City Prosecutor John Castele. She maintains and updates court files as needed and is responsible for other miscellaneous tasks in the Detective Bureau and Record Room.