Police Department Expects To Receive Reaccreditation

By Andrew Gorosko

Police expect that the results of a recent inspection of police department documents by state officials will result in the department’s receiving another three-year term as an accredited municipal law enforcement agency.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe said that a recent inspection of police department documents by members of the state’s Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POSTC) “went very well.”

A team of inspectors examined the police department’s documents on June 24, seeking to learn whether the organization maintains a set of records that meet current standards pertaining to police liability and risk.

In view of the inspection team’s review of documents, Police Commission members at their July 1 meeting reviewed and revised three existing police department policies to bring those policies up to date with current standards, Chief Kehoe said.

The policies concern: field training officers, bias-based profiling, and prisoners and the police department’s holding cells. The police policy revisions involved clarifying some wording within the policies, he said.

Chief Kehoe said he soon expects to receive formal word that the department has received reaccreditation for a three-year term. That status reflects a Tier One accreditation.

The police chief said he expects the department probably will seek Tier Two status on its course of eventually obtaining a Tier Three standing.

In 2005, the police department first received a three-year Tier One accreditation, recognizing professionalism in policing. The department had worked toward that goal for several years.

Accreditation is a voluntary process through which municipal law enforcement agencies seek to demonstrate a commitment to excellence, according to POSTC.

In the accreditation process, law enforcement agencies “demonstrate excellence in management and service delivery,” according to POSTC.

The overall accreditation program concerns 327 standards which are broken into three successive tiers. Tier One concerns 124 standards pertaining to liability. Tier Two addresses 83 standards on professional certification. Tier Three covers 120 general management standards.  

According to POSTC, the accreditation standards are formulated to allow police departments to meet the goals of: strengthening crime prevention and control capabilities; formalizing essential management procedures; establishing fair and nondiscriminatory personnel practices; improving service delivery; solidifying interagency cooperation and coordination; and boosting citizen and staff confidence in the police agency.

POSTC is a public board appointed by the governor.