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Consultant says Lancaster police making steady progress toward accreditation
Summary
A consultant told the Lancaster City Council the police department has completed an initial policy review, matched more than 170 accreditation standards, and is planning mock and on-site assessments over the next year; accreditation remains voluntary and ongoing.
Eric Brown, a consultant with Palmetto Executive Solutions, told the Lancaster City Council the city's police department has completed a substantial initial review as part of a multi-year accreditation project and is preparing for external assessments next year.
"Accreditation is a voluntary endeavor," Brown said. "It's not somewhere you get to, and now you're finished." He said the review covered roughly 150 agency policies, with about 115 policies directly touched by applicable standards and an assessment that matched about 172 standards to departmental directives.
Brown described work so far as policy review, suggested edits, facility and equipment assessments, and the collection of evidence of compliance such as incident reports and forms. He said the department purchased the PowerDMS document-management software with grant funding to support the process and that staff will continue daily matching of operations to written directives.
Brown outlined the expected sequence: staff will seek a mock assessment from an outside reviewer in spring, follow with a remote review using PowerDMS later in the spring, and request a formal on-site assessment likely in the summer (timing depends on assessors' availability). He said the accreditation report would be considered at the applicable accrediting body's conference, which he anticipated in November of next year.
Chief (Police) introduced the accreditation team and credited patrol officers, command staff, watch commanders and grant writer Erin Kendall for their roles in the project.
Brown cautioned that accreditation is continuous rather than a one-time destination and that some recommended facility or equipment items could carry budgetary implications. He said agencies typically continue reviewing and revising policies after initial accreditation.
The council did not take any formal action during the presentation; the chief and staff will continue preparing documentation and scheduling the mock and on-site assessments.
