Saturday, March 25, 2006
The panel cited department initiatives and programs in its recommendation.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- After three years, volumes of paperwork and days of assessments and evaluations, the township police department is nationally accredited.
Chief Jeffrey Patterson, Officer Dean Lysowski and three other members of the department traveled to Jacksonville, Fla., last week and received the certification at a ceremony Saturday, making it the first law enforcement entity in the Mahoning Valley to earn the distinction through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc., or CALEA, the national board.
"The committee unanimously recommended that we receive accreditation," Patterson said.
Pursuing and earning accreditation was a mandate when Patterson was hired in 2000 by then-trustees Elaine Mancini, John Cox and Tom Costello. Mancini is the only one of those three still in office.
A team of assessors examined the department's conformity to 440 standards that address all aspects of police work, ensuring that policies in those standards and the proof of their compliance are in place.
Assessors visit
The assessors, from police departments in Illinois, New Jersey and Maryland, visited the township in December. That visit included a hearing where residents, representatives of other law enforcement agencies and public officials spoke about the department.
The team also conducted panel sessions with officers, completed ride-alongs and finished with an exit interview with the chief.
Patterson said that the recommendation pointed to the department's diversity recruitment efforts, crime analysis program, public support, crime scene unit, good media relations, commitment to juvenile programs, victim-assistance program and its traffic enforcement and traffic investigations unit.
"They also talked about our street-crimes program, how we use criminal analysis and criminal intelligence information to deploy our K-9 officers and street crime unit on overtime" to address and deter crime, the chief said.
"They said it was an exemplary program," he said.
Patterson initiated the street crimes, criminal analysis/intelligence and crime scene units.
How it helps
CALEA representatives have said that accreditation provides accountability for a department, alerting its officials to deficiencies or problems so they can be addressed before a crisis erupts.
The chief has said that accredited departments generally see a 10-percent to 15-percent discount in insurance premiums. For Boardman, that means an annual reduction of between $13,960 and $20,940.
Accredited departments also generally realize reductions in property/casualty insurance and workers'compensation costs, he has said.
Accreditation continues for three years, and the department must submit annual reports to the agency demonstrating continued compliance with standards.
After three years, the department must request reaccreditation.
During the December assessment, the team leader said he was impressed with the department, pointing to comments made during the public hearing and what he saw as a "pride and passion in the township."