Is Accreditation for Your Agency?

Submitted by: Don Pike

Accreditation is an involved and thorough process that requires law enforcement agencies to constantly examine everything they do. The process cannot be taken lightly. Could it cost money? Yes. Time-consuming? Yes. Worth it? You decide. Before we get started, keep in mind that this is not a “how to or “what to”, all-encompassing guide. It merely points out some ideas for consideration. Feel free to agree, disagree, or use to add to or subtract from.
The most important thing about any accreditation process is to read and understand the standard. Pick the standard’s language apart. A one-sentence standard may require multiple things so read carefully.

Before a Law Enforcement Agency Decides to Pursue Accreditation

Before an agency decides whether to pursue accreditation, the first thing the agency should do is contact the accrediting body to see how a copy of the applicable standards can be obtained and reviewed. In addition, the agency should consider:

• Does the Chief/Sheriff support it?
• Do elected officials support it?
• Has a cost-benefit analysis been completed?
• To meet or exceed the standards, what will cost money in terms of personnel,
  resources, equipment, training, building renovations, etc.

Once an Agency Has Decided to “Go For It”

Once the agency has decided to “go for it”, arguably the next most important thing is the designation of one person to manage the process. The decision to appoint a sworn or civilian member to be the process manager is crucial. Some things to consider before the appointment:

• Does the person have a background in or experience with the accreditation
• process?
• Will they be reassigned to the accreditation process full-time or will they “split”
  time fulfilling other duties, such as patrol, investigations, administrative,
  secretarial, etc.?
• Does the person have excellent communication, organization, planning,
  research, writing, managerial, and “people” skills?
• Can they interpret standards and explain them clearly to others?

The Process Manager

Before the Process Manager can adequately assume responsibility for the process, they must be trained on, among other things:

• The standards applicable to the agency.
• Determining which standards are not applicable and why.
• The types and kinds of documentation that will prove compliance with each
  applicable standard.
• The importance of frequent site visits to all agency facilities.
• The importance of using a good quality digital camera to obtain images that help
  document compliance with certain standards.

While the process can be daunting, it is imperative that it be managed by one person. Depending upon agency size, mission, number of facilities, etc., the process manager may need to assemble a team. Like the process manager needs to be trained on the
process, so does every team member. In many cases, the training for team members can be conducted by the Process Manager.
While the Process Manager will have access to many areas of the agency, there may be some areas where access may be restricted. This is understood and the Process Manager may have to have a “go-to” person within that area to assist with demonstrating compliance with the standards applicable to the facility.

Standards That Are Likely Crucial

Certainly, all applicable standards are important, but some require extra attention. They involve:

• Accounting for money
• Security and control of evidence/property
• Facilities used to detain/process/house arrestees/prisoners
• Any standard that requires an inspection, audit, analysis, review, “after-action”
  report, etc.
• Alternate source(s) of power for communications equipment, such as generators

Process Managers (and team members) need to be cognizant of the standards that require extra attention and develop appropriate systems or tracking methods to ensure any documentation the standards require is prepared and adequately proves
compliance. A good “rule of thumb”: This is not being done just to meet standards. It’s being done to ensure the Chief/Sheriff is kept informed of exemplary areas of the agency and those where “tweaks” or improvement may be needed.

Which Standards Should We Start With?

Taking into account any time frame specified by contract with the accrediting body or Chief/Sheriff, the Process Manager may elect through the team approach (like the Incident Command System) to assign work to different work groups:

• Written Procedures Group – could be tasked with reviewing current agency written procedures with applicable standards. Directive(s) found to be deficient should immediately be brought to the Process Manager’s attention and language should be developed to rectify the deficiency. If permitted by the accrediting body, it may not be necessary to create a procedure if the language in the law, collective bargaining agreement, lesson plan, etc., affirmatively establish compliance with the requirements of the standard. For example, a standard may require that all employees (sworn and civilians) adhere to a grievance process. A review reveals the agency does not have its own “in-house” written directive, but all employees are covered by the county’s/city’s laws or collective bargaining agreements that clearly meet the standard’s requirements. This may be acceptable if permitted by the accrediting body.
• Facilities Group – could be tasked with completing an inspection of each facility to determine which are/are not in compliance with applicable standards. For example, if a standard requires that evidence/property be stored securely, inspectors should determine all security measures in place. Unless a standard specifically requires security cameras, they may not be necessary, but what makes the storage facility secure? Locks? Alarms? Fences? This group should pay close attention to any standard that uses the words “security”, “securely”, “authorized”, etc. when conducting their inspections. Standards that
  deal with areas used to detain/process/house detainees/arrestees/prisoners must be carefully evaluated. Procedures may need to be developed to deal specifically with juveniles, persons with disabilities, and others.
• Finance Group – could be tasked with the most important part of the overall process. Members of this group may even accompany members of the Facilities Group to see what additional funding may be needed to bring a facility(s) into
  compliance. This group should be cognizant of any planned capital improvement projects for the agency and their time frames. In addition, group members should be cognizant of the agency’s procedures and time frames for purchase
  orders, the bid process, etc., as some of this part of the process may take some time.

Proving Compliance With Standards

When determining how best to prove compliance with a standard, it’s a judgment call based on what training the Process Manager (and Team Members) received. The main thing to consider is that whatever is being used should get right to the heart of what the
standard requires and not raise more questions than it answers. For example, a digital image is obtained of an officer not wearing a reflective vest or clothing using standard hand gestures while directing traffic. While this image may demonstrate
compliance with a standard that may require such gestures, the image may have just taken the agency out of compliance with a standard that requires the wearing of the reflective vest or clothing.

Some thoughts and cautions:

• When writing a procedure to prove compliance with a standard, avoid making it more restrictive than the standard (unless the Chief/Sheriff wants it more restrictive). For example, a particular standard requires an inspection be conducted of a particular piece of equipment or location semi-annually. Instead, the agency either already has a procedure in place or decides to adopt a procedure that requires the inspection quarterly. Unless not permitted by the accrediting body, exceeding the standard’s requirements is permissible – just be consistent with the agency-mandated quarterly inspections. If a standard requires procedures or a system it should almost be a step-by-step guide. Be sure it is a procedure and not merely a policy statement. Policy statements generally say that a certain thing will be done. Procedures indicate when, why, how, and where. For example, the written directive may indicate that a certain inspection will be conducted on the third Wednesday of a given month at 1:00 pm. Absent anything more, that’s a policy statement. If the directive went on to indicate what the inspection would cover, who would conduct it, how it would be conducted and any report of findings, the directive should be okay.
• If a standard requires an analysis, providing a print-out of a bunch of numbers is not acceptable. If a separate document is compiled that explains the print-out, what the numbers mean, why they were collected, during what time frame, what
  was learned from them, and how the results will be applied, if at all, that should be acceptable.
• An effective Process Manager has friends in “high places” and “low places”.
  • Friends in “high places” include supervisors, directors, commanders, etc.,
    who can help give things a “nudge”, if necessary.
  • Friends in “low places” are generally colleagues at the unit/district/division
    level upon whom the Process Manager can rely for assistance with
    
• It is important that the Process Manager and Team Members know what a particular standard requires because the Manager or Team Member may have to explain it. They should avoid handing a person a copy of a standard and expect the recipient to know what is required. Whenever possible brief the recipient and, if possible, provide the recipient with a copy of what was provided previously so they can use it as a guide.

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