WARWICK- The Town of Warwick Police Department has been awarded the “Certificate of Accreditation” by the New York State Law Enforcement Accreditation Program.
To meet accreditation standards, 110 individual thresholds set by the Municipal Police Training Council must be met. The process, from start to finish, took a total of 14 months to complete.
Standards in the categories of administration, training, and operations were set and tested by officials who conducted police and civilian interviews, toured the police station, and reviewed department practices and training.
As part of the accreditation process, improvements were made to the police station, including upgrades to the property room and updates to much of the equipment used by officers. A total of 167 interviews were conducted with both police officers and civilian employees as part of the extensive process.
Police Chief John Rader acknowledged that the accreditation could not have been achieved without the support of Town Supervisor Michael Sweeton, the town board, and former Police Chief Thomas McGovern, who started the process under his tenure at the helm of the department.
“The real credit goes to each member of our agency who conducts themselves in a professional manner every day and exemplifies the standards that we have to meet. Less than 30 percent of police departments in New York have achieved this status. This is a proud day for our department and the community that we serve,” said Rader.
Town Supervisor Michael Sweeton said, “The Assessment Team Leader from the state, after three days of intense review, said in his wrap up session that in all his years of evaluating agencies he could not remember once where he had no suggestions for improvement but in our case, he had none!” Sweeton added, “Being an accredited department sends a strong message to our community that the Warwick Police Department is comprised of professional law enforcement officers who will protect and serve them 24/7 365 days a year. We can be very proud of the WPD.”
In order for the department to maintain accreditation status, reassessments must be conducted every five years.