Quincy council discusses police standards

QUINCY - Several officials argued police accreditation helps departments set standards and can help with claims and lawsuits.

People involved with the Washington Association of Sheriff's and Police Chiefs (WASPC) and the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) went to a Quincy City Council meeting to present the case for accreditation.

The council agreed to hear a presentation on accreditation in a previous meeting, following a decision to not hire Martin Dickson to help organize accreditation. Police Chief Richard Ackerman asked the council to hire Dickson for 15 hours a week at $12 an hour.

Presently, the department is seeking accreditation from WASPC, Police Chief Richard Ackerman said. He would like to pursue the more detailed CALEA accreditation process later.

Mike Painter, WASPC's director of professional services, said accreditation is meant to certify the police department is acting in the best possible way. He called it a fairly inexpensive insurance policy.

"I can tell you at my 32-years at Kent, I left as a deputy chief. Twice within the last four years that I was in place, I was certified as a forensic expert in civil cases," he said. "We got defense verdicts ... in the cases I testified in we would probably had never even been close had we not been accredited."

The association generally recommends starting with an audit of the department before starting on accreditation, Painter said.

"We do that audit using best practices that have been identified throughout the country, and we compare them to our benchmarks," he said.

The association uses 135 standards to judge the agency. The standards range from policies on how officers do their job, how records are managed, natural and man-made disaster plans, fiscal management and personnel policies, according to WASPC.

When the audit is completed, departments will determine how close they are to becoming accredited, Painter said. Once officials determine how close the department is, officials can begin collecting proof they are following the standards.

"To be accredited, you not only have to have policies and procedures in place that address the 135 standards ... but you have to prove that you are actually doing what your policies say," he said.

When the department has its files and policies completed, a team of police executives and accreditation managers will review the department, he said. Painter writes a report based on the review and it goes to a committee, which determines whether the agency can be accredited.

"An agency could never consider WASPC accreditation unless they had the CEO support and particularly council support. I would really encourage you to take a close look at accreditation," he said. "I think based on the (audit) findings. I think Quincy ... is not far away from being able to meet WASPC accreditation. There is still some work that needs to be done. They can't move forward without your support."

The accreditation costs $100 plus the team member's time, he said. It costs between $1,000 and $1,500 typically.

Bellevue Police Chief Linda Pillo echoed Painter's comments about accreditation. Her department went through the CALEA accreditation process. The international organization requires departments to comply with 400 standards and was a two-year process.

"The new city manager at the time came in and he said, 'I want everyone of my departments to be accredited,'" she said. "It was also with the council support. They were definitely integral in us becoming accredited."

Accreditation allows the department to tell the community the police follow the best practices available, Pillo said.

"That goes a long ways," she said. "You're able to sleep at night knowing that you have independent assessors coming into your police agency and auditing and making sure that you are following best practices."

It also decreases the amount of risk officers have of making a mistake because of poor training or unclear policies, Pillo said.

"It is extra for all the staff," she said. "Some of the officers might complain every now and then ... but I believe there is pride in being able to say that I'm an internationally accredited agency and a state-accredited agency."

Pillo said the process to become accredited wasn't costly, but it is time intensive.

"We didn't have to make any huge remodeling changes," she said.

The CALEA accreditation generally costs about $5,000 a year, Pillo said.

Quincy Port Commissioner and insurance agent Curt Morris said the accreditation won't help the city's insurance payments directly, but following the best practices available could have indirect benefits.

"If you're following best practices and if you ever are sued ... it's nice to be able to step up on the stand and say, 'We are following best practices.' It helps in the defense," he said. "It probably reduces claims."

The accreditation also helps the port to sell the city to businesses looking to locate at the port, Morris said.

"We haven't been taking them into the police department," he said. "You guys are all working on that process."

Councilmember Jose Saldana questioned accreditation, saying the department is supposed to follow the best practices available anyway.

"That's what we should do, so our police chief or captain or mayor, we're supposed to follow best practices," he said. "If you follow the rules and regulations you shouldn't have any problems. Nobody does it, I guess, but I guess you're supposed to have somebody to remind you of that."

Morris said the benefit seems to be an unrelated third-party source is stating the department is following the best practices available.

Saldana said if the department isn't following the best practices, then the city needs a new police chief.

Painter responded agencies don't always follow the best practices.

"The reason that they don't is not because they're bad police departments or bad police chiefs. It's because, as Chief Pillo will probably testify to, it's because they get busy doing other things," he said. "Then, suddenly, there is a lawsuit that begins to inspire them to improve some of their practices."

Saldana replied if the chief isn't ensuring the department is following the best practices, he isn't doing his job.

"When I get hired, I'm going to do my job to the best of my knowledge to make sure the department is running the way it should be," he said.

Councilmember Scott Lybbert said he likes the idea of having someone come in and review the department.

Councilmember Adam Roduner pointed out if the department has policies in place and follows them it shouldn't create issues.

"My questions is how many departments in this state are accredited?" he asked.

Painter said 58 departments have WASPC accreditation and 21 agencies are scheduled to renew their accreditation in 2012.

"About a dozen of those agencies are CALEA agencies, so last conference, which occurred in May, 11 agencies were reaccredited," he said. "We've got 10 more to do between now and the November conference."