Palmer Police Seek Accreditation of Department

When becoming Palmer Township's new chief of police, said a main goal was to get the department accredited by the state.

Palmer presented the Monday night an overview of the police department accreditation process.

The supervisors were receptive, but expressed concern about the cost.

Palmer told the supervisors, "Having been through this, I feel like I'm qualified to speak about it." He was able to get Easton's department accreditation from the state when he was chief of the city's force. "The mayor didn't think we could do it. We proved them wrong."

Accreditation standards mean that a police department meets specific criteria set by national and state commissions.

The accreditation process establishes goals, objectives, policies, practices and a mission statement that are continually reviewed to ensure that a police department is up to date on procedural changes and changes in the law.

"The process follows my industry's best practices and procedures," Palmer said.

He said it begins with the application process, which the township did several years back. But it didn't take the next step forward.

That's hiring an accreditation manager, which Palmer said he'd like to come from the management ranks.

Then a mock assessment of the department is conducted where evaluators examine policies and procedures, staffing, equipment and even the police station, Palmer said.

After revisions and adjustments are made, the department undergoes a full assessment.

"They pick the department apart," Palmer said.

He added that even though a department gets accreditation, the process is only good for three years and a department is still monitored and evaluated for how it's updating and implementing policies and law enforcement changes.

"We have a lot of work to do," the chief said.

Supervisor Bob Lammi backed Palmer's proposal. "I'm the one who is pushing for this to be done," Lammi said. "To be a real quality department in this environment, you need accreditation."

What worried supervisors was the cost.

The supervisors have worked diligently in the past year to curb police department expenses and shave overtime costs, Supervisors Chairman Dave Colver said.

Colver wondered whether the accreditation officer would then become full-time or part-time.

He figured the salary costs plus health benefits could equal about $100,000.

And then there's the $1,000 accreditation fee each year.

"It leads into an expense that needs to be budgeted," Colver said.

Palmer hoped to gain accreditation by July 2013, especially if he had a two-member team preparing the department for the assessment.

If he has only one officer or civilian devoted to the project, Palmer estimated that accreditation might not come until July 2014.

"It sounds like we like the general concept," Colver said of the supervisors. "I'm a little concerned about starting this project. We're already into June of this year. We gotta get some ballpark ideas on costs."

The supervisors instructed Palmer to seek an accreditation officer and to provide them with some costs.