ACCREDITATION Police pursue national approval

The process should be completed in 2005.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Township officials say the police department here operates on the highest standards of law enforcement, and the department is seeking affirmation from a national accreditation program to prove it.
The department is in the middle of a three-year process to gain accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. The commission offers a voluntary accreditation program for police departments in the United States and Canada. To be accredited, departments must meet and maintain a list of procedural and departmental standards.
A contract with the commission was signed in November 2002 at a cost to the township of $7,650. Officer Dean Lysowski, officer in charge of the accreditation process, hopes to have the department ready to be accredited by November 2005.
Lysowski no longer spends his days patrolling the township as a K-9 officer. He is still in charge of K-9 training in the township, but the accreditation process takes up most of his time.
What's required
According to Lysowski, 440 standards, with subcategories for each, must be met before the department can become accredited. The department is about halfway through meeting those standards, he said.
Lysowski said the standards deal with every aspect of police work in the department from dealing with individuals with mental disabilities to the process by which officers may fire warning shots. A recent survey of township residents' feelings toward the department was part of the accreditation process and must be repeated every three years.
Lysowski said there will be changes in the department with the accreditation. He said identification badges will be necessary for those entering certain parts of the police department. There will be limited access to radio dispatch rooms at the police station, changes in how officers handle evidence and more documentation on all levels of police work, he said.
Once officers have determined that the department meets all standards for accreditation, mock assessors will be brought in to evaluate the department. The assessors, Lysowski said, will integrate into all aspects of the department for several days and determine if the department is worthy of accreditation.
After any suggestions the mock assessors make are fixed, the department will face the scrutiny of the CALEA and be granted or denied accreditation.
A long process
Lysowski said the process is lengthy and will cost the township money to bring in assessors, pay salaries of officers working on the accreditation process, complete paperwork and pay accreditation fees. He does not yet know the total cost, but said township residents would see returns on the money.
Lysowski said the department will benefit from accreditation with controlled liability insurance costs and increased coverage. He said accredited agencies are also less likely to be sued and more successful in defending lawsuits because of the strict policies to which they must adhere. He also said accreditation means more accountability in the department, support from government officials and increased community advocacy.
"This is going to give [the taxpayer] what they are paying for," he said. "As a taxpayer, I would want a department that is doing what it's suppose do. This is just assurance for them that we are doing what we are suppose to do."
jgoodwin@vindy.com