Police Seek State Accreditation

Hospitals have it. And so do colleges. 

Soon too, the Upper Moreland Township Police Department could join the ranks of the accredited.

At least that’s the hope of Police Chief Michael Murphy. In his 35th year of police work, Murphy, who took the reins in Upper Moreland at the end of April, successfully traveled down the accreditation road as a deputy chief in Upper Dublin, and more recently, as Warminster’s police chief when that department was accredited in 2008.

“There’s a sense of pride,” Murphy said of the gold standard, which, according to the accrediting agency, the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, has been placed on only 83 of roughly 1,200 law enforcement agencies statewide. “We need to meet professional standards.”

Police departments seeking accreditation are assessed every three years by cops from various parts of the state, Joseph Blackburn, the accreditation project coordinator for the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association said previously.

In all, departments are measured against 133 standards and sub-standards, including, but not limited to, organization and management; staff support; and property and evidence control, Blackburn said.

For the time being, Murphy is working with the Upper Moreland Commissioners to establish comprehensive policies. Once those are in place, Murphy said he hopes to have a peer review and assessment undertaken by 2015.

“I’ve written policy for 15 years,” said Murphy, noting that he is updating and customizing documents already created.

Ironing out file management and property/evidence issues is an integral part of the process, he said. 

In the more immediate future, Murphy is working with the commissioners on an ordinance permitting arrests without a warrant. The legislation would only apply to summary violations such as disorderly conduct, underage drinking and public drunkenness, instances where a person's behavior presents a danger. 

Police can arrest people for any of these violations now without a warrant, he said. But, having an ordinance on the books allows the department to "dot our i's and cross our t's."

Commissioner Donna Parsell, who chairs the public health and safety committee, said having policies “in writing” ensures that proper protocols are followed in all instances. 

It can also have other perks as well, she said.

“There are sometimes opportunities for programs or grants that we would not be eligible for if we did not have accreditation,” she said.

In Warminster, Murphy said the department’s accreditation offered greater liability protection. Prior to accreditation in 2008, Warminster had been sued, but has not been sued since, according to Murphy.

Even with the benefits, accreditation is not without its work.

“You have to continually present proofs of compliance,” Murphy said. “It’s an ongoing process that continues until you decide you no longer want to participate.”

Murphy, who has sat on the other side of accreditation, offering peer reviews for the attorney general’s office, the cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and Allentown, said the “personal pride” of obtaining accreditation–and displaying the seal in the police department and on police cars–makes the work worthwhile.