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Council adopts updated police standing orders to meet accreditation standards
Summary
The council approved seven updated police standing orders aimed at meeting accreditation requirements and modernizing departmental policies to reflect current best practices.
The Town Council on Feb. 24 approved seven updated standing orders for the police department, a set of policy documents the department said were necessary to meet best‑practice standards for law enforcement accreditation.
South Kingstown Police Chief Matt Moynihan explained the updates are part of a broader effort to bring standing orders and policies up to date for the Rhode Island Police Accreditation Association re‑assessment scheduled for March. Moynihan said the changes include updates to use‑of‑force guidance, vehicle pursuit policy, evidence handling and administrative items such as grievance timelines and survivor benefits.
Legal counsel and the chief discussed a separate, longer‑term issue: South Kingstown’s charter requires council approval of standing orders, an arrangement the chief called “antiquated” compared with most other municipalities. Council members agreed the charter provision complicates operational agility and asked the chief and staff to prepare a charter amendment proposal for voter consideration so that future routine policy changes would not require council votes. “We should be able to make those decisions in short order, the chief said, without the elected body having to approve every standing order change.”
Councilors said they were supportive of the department’s accreditation work and commended the chief and his staff for the effort. There was no public opposition during the hearing. The council voted to close the public hearing and approved the standing orders by voice vote.
