Gloucester Township Police First Police Department In New Jersey To Have The Agency And The PSAP Dispatch Center Accredited By The NJSACOP New Conference April 10, 2023 Media Packet
Statement From Chief David Harkins, Gloucester Township Police:
I am proud to announce that the Gloucester Township Police Department has achieved Accreditation for both the law enforcement agency, and for the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) Dispatch Center, from the prestigious New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police (NJSACOP).
The Gloucester Township Police Department is the first police department in New Jersey to receive accreditation for both the agency and the dispatch center at the same time.
Upon my appointment as Chief of Police on November 1, 2019, achieving accreditation was a goal to improve our already strong police agency. Getting this project started was delayed by the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the process began approximately two years ago. Accreditation was accomplished through the diligence and dedication of the team here at the Gloucester Township Police Department. While it was a tremendous effort by many of my staff, I want to recognize a few who oversaw the implementation of the accreditation process:
- -Deputy Chief Anthony Minosse – assigned as the Accreditation Manager and oversaw all aspects of the accreditation process.
- -DSgt. Edward O’Lano – assigned to the Special Projects Unit, was responsible for the bulk of the accreditation work for the agency.
- -Sgt. Nicholas Katz – assigned to as the Support Services Bureau Commander, was responsible for the bulk of the accreditation work for the PSAP/Dispatch Center.
In addition, I want to acknowledge our assigned project manager from Lexipol, Retired Washington Township Police Captain Dennis Sims. Dennis was there along every step of the project, guiding us to improve our practices and we are grateful to Lexipol for assigning him to work with us.
I also want to acknowledge and thank Mayor David Mayer, Township Council, Business Administrator Tom Cardis, and the Township Administration for their unwavering support to accomplish this great achievement. We could not have achieved this without the teamwork demonstrated by the leadership of Gloucester Township.
The New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police describes accreditation in the following way:
“Accreditation is a progressive and time-proven method of assisting law enforcement agencies to calculate and improve their overall performance. The foundation of Accreditation lies in the adoption of standards containing a clear statement of professional objectives. Participating agencies conduct a thorough self-analysis to determine how existing operations can be adapted to meet these standards and objectives. When the procedures are in place, a team of trained, independent assessors verifies that the applicable standards have been successfully implemented. ” This Accreditation certification will last 3 years, at which time we will again go through the re-accreditation process.
During the Accreditation process, we examined all critical functions of the agency and the dispatch center. We reviewed and updated most of our departmental and dispatch center policies, conducted a full and complete audit of our property and evidence room, and implemented oversite checks to ensure compliance with all of the best practices mandated by the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police. The U.S. Department of Justice as an “independent credentialing body” also recognizes Accreditation by the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police. This means that by achieving Accreditation, the Gloucester Township Police Department complies with Presidential Executive Order 13929, Safe
Policing for Safe Communities.
The benefits include the independent assurance that we are utilizing the very best law enforcement and dispatch center practices. The Accreditation process actually enhanced our already strong community policing programs. One of the benefits includes a reduction of liability insurance premiums for the Township as well.
I am very proud of the men and women of the Gloucester Township Police Department. They live out our tenets of “Compassion – Courage – Honesty –Respect – Fairness and Integrity” day in and day out as they serve this great community of Gloucester Township. This accomplishment of being the first agency and dispatch center in New Jersey to receive Accreditation at the same time from the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, is an acknowledgement of their hard work and dedication.
