Southampton Police Re-Certify Accreditation

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — The Southampton Town Police Department announced this week that it had successfully re-certified with New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.

According to a release from Southampton Police, the process of accreditation certifies the department's standards through New York State.

"The department continues to ensure that we meet the stringent standards of New York State and continues to strive for excellence in policing," police said."The department is proud of our continued efforts to maintain the highest standards in law enforcement."

Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman applauded the department's efforts. “This accreditation only underscores what we have known all along — that the men and woman who wear the badge for the Southampton Police Department are some of the finest in the country. It also proves the department runs as a highly effective agency under the forward thinking leadership of Chief Steven Skrynecki. ”

According to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, accreditation is a "progressive and contemporary way of helping police agencies evaluate and improve their overall performance," providing formal recognition that an organization meets or exceeds general expectations of quality in the field.

The New York State accreditation program was instituted in 1989 and focuses on four primary goals, including to increase "the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement agencies utilizing existing personnel, equipment and facilities to the extent possible, to promote increased cooperation and coordination among law enforcement agencies and other agencies of the criminal justice services; to ensure the appropriate training of law enforcement personnel; and to promote public confidence in law enforcement agencies," the page says.

The accreditation program is made of of a set of standards and addresses issues such as "agency organization, fiscal management, personnel practices, and records management," training standards, and operations standards, dealing with "critical and litigious topics as high-speed pursuits, roadblocks, patrol, and unusual occurrences," the NYS DOCJS said.

Patch file photo.