Standards help department maintain professionalism

The Peachtree City Police Department has again won re-accreditation on the national level.

On a day to day level, accreditation affects every action taken by the police department because the department has to follow standards set out by the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies. Those standards cover every aspect of police work from criminal investigations to how a suspect is arrested and more.

Police Chief H.C. “Skip” Clark said accreditation helps the department with its main goal of providing professional services to the city.

“It wouldn’t be possible without every member of the department doing what they’re supposed to do, day in and day out,” Clark said. “It helps make us a better agency in the long run.”

Keeping the national accreditation is a continuous process, Clark said, thanking accreditation manager Capt. Rosanna Dove in particular for her work in making sure the city is meeting accreditation standards on a regular basis.

It also helps that Peachtree City is a good community which supports the department, Clark added.

Among the benchmarks set in the CALEA standards are requirements to measure racial profiling data, use of force policies and more, Clark said.

“It’s a continual evaluation process,” Clark said. “It helps make us a better agency and helps us be more professional. That’s what our end goal is: to be the best of the best.”

Because it has maintained such accreditation since 1992, the department was awarded the status of “meritorious” agency at last week’s meeting of the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. The department also maintained its “flagship” status, meaning it is held as an example to other departments who have achieved accreditation or who are looking to do so for the first time.

Clark noted that the accreditation process wouldn’t be possible without the support of City Manager Bernie McMullen and Mayor Harold Logsdon, both of whom attended last week’s accreditation ceremony in Utah as a show of support for the department.

The department also had several officers pay their own way (and use their vacation time) to attend the Utah event, including Capt. Terry Ernst, Lt. Mark Brown and Sgt. Heather Jones. The officers’ commitment was noted by the commission.