Warwick Police Department Gets Long Sought State Accreditation
New York State accreditation has been awarded to fewer than 30% of police departments, Town Supervisor Mike Sweeton said.
A trip to Albany by Warwick Police Chief John Rader and Town Supervisor Michael Sweeton last week led to a “monumental day,” Sweeton said, speaking at the March 9 town board meeting. The pair had attended the quarterly meeting of the New York State Law Enforcement Agency Accreditation Council, where Warwick Police Department was approved for accreditation. Fewer than 30% of police departments in the state have accreditation, Sweeton said.
The police department applied for accreditation in October of 2021, Rader said, and they had been working to meet the required 110 standards, some of which have multiple parts. On Jan. 17, three officials from the Accreditation Council visited Warwick police and conducted 167 interviews over three days with 14 police officers and two civilians.
“They evaluate whether we have adopted the standards, whether our policies follow them and whether we have documented our compliance,” said Rader. “They’ll reassess us every five years.”
“An interviewer told me they usually have suggestions as they evaluate departments, but this time they had none,” Sweeton said.
Rader gave examples of the 110 requirements. They included upgrades to the property room, equipment upgrades and improvements to the interior and exterior of the police station. Standards are divided into three categories – administration, training and operations. They range from the police department mission statement, arrest procedures and community engagement to disaster preparedness.
Rader also noted that during 2022 the department had begun using body cameras and restored the bike unit, involving 18 police officers. Their new Junior Police Academy had attracted 20 students to each of two sessions, and registration for this year’s Academy will soon begin.
Meanwhile, the department had responded to 17,029 calls, made 6089 traffic stops and 151 arrests and investigated 853 criminal cases. They responded to 699 car accidents, including four fatalities–a high number for the town.
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