Bethlehem Township Police Department hopes to be certified by the summer while the Palmer Township Police Department hopes to reach their goal by summer 2014.
Two Lehigh Valley police departments are working toward accreditation, led by men who saw the program help heal and reinvigorate the battered image of the Easton Police Department.
Police forces in Bethlehem Township, Pa., and Palmer Township are working toward state accreditation — a program that once completed can help a certified department achieve a reliable policy and reduce liability.
Bethlehem Township officer Dave Ryan and Palmer Township Sgt. Michael Vangelo are both former Easton police officers and were both involved in the 2007 accreditation process in the city.
The achievement was just one way the department hoped to close the door on a rocky past punctuated by accusations of police brutality and lack of consistent policy and training, which was blamed in the 2005 accidental shooting of officer Jesse Sollman in the police station.
Both Ryan and Vangelo said the program turned things around in Easton and believe it could do good elsewhere.
“I truly believe in the program. I’ve seen it do wonders for Easton,” Ryan said. “I think it’s an excellent, proactive step for Bethlehem Township.”
Ryan said it took about three years for Easton to finish the program. Bethlehem Township police are expected to complete the program and be evaluated by the summer — a little more than a year after actively pursuing accreditation, Ryan said.
The New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police granted the Clinton Township Police Department accreditation after three years of work on Feb. 15, making it the first department in Hunterdon County to receive that distinction.
Time-consuming, worthwhile pursuit
Accreditation often follows a troublesome past.
It happened in Easton and in Bethlehem —
a department that boasts of both state and national accreditation.
Those accomplishments came in part because of orders following a 2004
settlement for the wrongful death of 21-year-old John Hirko, killed by
police in a raid at his Bethlehem home in April 1997.
But those who’ve seen the program do good are now more likely to be ambassadors for departments not grappling with the same difficult pasts. That’s the case in Bethlehem Township, Ryan said.
“This is a very proactive endeavor,” he said. “We want to be a model agency for police departments.”
Palmer Township police, led by former Easton police Chief Larry Palmer, began seriously chasing the accreditation in the fall, Vangelo said. He expects the department to be finished with the process by next summer.
The Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association began offering the state accreditation program in 2001. Since then, 83 agencies have achieved the accreditation and more than 300 are enrolled in the program.
The accreditation process requires departments to adopt best-practice policies in 132 different areas. They must prove through police reports that these strategies are properly taught and followed in the field. It’s a time-consuming task, Ryan said, but the clear directives make for a safer, more consistent job.
“It’s not difficult, but it is labor-intensive as far as building your files,” Ryan said. “The bottom line here is to reduce operational liability.”
An agency is given the opportunity for a mock evaluation to make sure they’re ready before a final evaluation and eventual certification.
The accreditation status does not last forever. Departments must continually prove they are sticking to their new policies through detailed reports and occasional assessments.
Township support essential
Though most of the adjustments made for accreditation come in the form of policy changes, some physical modifications are also necessary.
Both Bethlehem and Palmer townships say the accreditation process has led them to expand and alter rooms used for evidence storage. Vangelo said Palmer Township will also limit who has access to the room to keep it more secure.
“That’s a big one,” Vangelo said. “It’s very important. We want to make sure it’s secure, clean and ready for audits.”
Ryan said Bethlehem Township has also made changes to their evidence rooms, expanding off-site facilities and ensuring there’s adequate space to log and keep property for investigations.
The township has also made changes to their booking facilities, which Ryan said will help increase the efficiency of processing prisoners.
Such changes require serious cooperation.
“When you’re talking about physical changes … you’re talking about how every single department in the township has to support this program,” Ryan said. “In this case in Bethlehem Township, they obviously do because things are happening very quickly.”
Vangelo said he can’t think of a department in the state that would not benefit from the program and the challenge that goes with it.
“You have all the officers doing things correctly and the same way,” Vangelo said. “It makes it easier for officers down the line because they have a foundation to build on.”