Law Enforcement across the nation is forever challenged with many critical tasks in their daily operations. For example, use of force, pursuits, dealing with the mentally ill, arrest and search / seizure to name just a few. The most important task for any Professional Law Enforcement Department is policy development, policy implementation, and the continual updating of their policies. The Michigan City Police Department is proud to announce that we have partnered with the Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police and are pursuing the accreditation process through the Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police Accreditation Commission (ILEAC). On Tuesday November 27th the administration team met with the ILEAC Executive Director Michael Ward and has submitted our application for accreditation in the calendar year of 2013. Our membership has been accepted and we are awaiting the arrival of our orientation package.
The accreditation process will be an intense process and I would like to personally take the opportunity to thank our Accreditation Managers Sergeant Chris Yagelski and Chief of Operations / Assistant Chief Tim Richardson for taking on the bulk of this responsibility. Starting in January of 2013 the administration and command staff within the department will begin the process to review all of our written directives and best practice guidelines with the standards that will be provided to us through ILEAC. We anticipate a minimum of 147 standards that will be implemented and utilized to direct the daily operations of our department once the process is completed. These standards have been written in compliance with state and federal case law and have been previously reviewed by both the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and the Indiana Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission (ILEAC) staff. The accreditation process will take a minimum of 6-12 months to complete through the Indiana association and there are currently more than 20 other departments across the state that have been accredited through the accreditation process in recent years.
As Chief, I fully appreciate, respect and value the experience, knowledge, dedication and insight from each and every member of our department. Our team is committed to provide quality public safety services in courteous, efficient, and professional standards in the service that we provide to the citizens of Michigan City. What will the accreditation process do for the citizens of Michigan City? The accreditation will assure professional law enforcement services guided by the best practices which are currently utilized by law enforcement across the state of Indiana. We recognize the accreditation recognition is a coveted award that symbolizes professionalism, excellence, and competence. All of which this department sets the bar for in law enforcement across northwest Indiana. The accreditation process increases the department’s ability to prevent and control crime through more effective and efficient delivery of law enforcement services to our community. The process also enhances community understanding and trust of the department. Once accredited the department must stay in compliance with the standards set forth by the accrediting commission in order to retain its accreditation. After going through the process and having adopted the accreditation standards, the department assures that its services will continue to be excellent and the most professional.