Newtown Police Department Gains Reaccreditation

By Andrew Gorosko

For the third time, the Newtown Police Department has received professional accreditation from the state’s Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POSTC) for voluntarily complying with a set of standards required for state-sanctioned accreditation.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe informed Police Commission members at a recent session that the department has received reaccreditation from POSTC.

Chief Kehoe credited Lieutenant Christopher Vanghele and administrative assistant Cynthia Mazzucco for their efforts in organizing much police department documentation for the reaccreditation review, which occurred at the police station in June.

As a result of its inspection, POSTC found that the police department “has voluntarily complied with the required standards as set forth by [POSTC] for Tier 1 standards.”

The reaccreditation commenced on June 16 and will be in effect for three years. The police department previously had received two three-year accreditation certificates. Its first accreditation came in 2005.

Police publicize that the department is accredited by POSTC through emblems affixed to their patrol cars.

POSTC reviews a police department’s ability to meet and maintain compliance with the many standards for accreditation.

The town police department was organized in 1971. It currently has 46 sworn officers, plus administrative staff.

In January 2005, the police department first received a Tier 1, or basic, accreditation. The department had worked toward that goal for several years. That certification concerns police standards pertaining to liability and risk. There are three successively complex tiers of accreditation.

In March 2010, Police Commission Chairman Duane Giannini recommended that the police department seek to obtain both Tier 2 and Tier 3 accreditation status.

An accreditation certificate lasts for three years, after which recertification is necessary to maintain the status.

Through the accreditation process, municipal law enforcement agencies seek to demonstrate a commitment to excellence, according to POSTC, which is a Meriden-based agency.

Among POSTC’s various duties, the organization: develops, adopts, and revises a comprehensive standards program for local law enforcement units; grants accreditation to those units that demonstrate their compliance with such standards; and conducts assessments to determine compliance with such standards.

The purpose of these standards is to enhance the professionalism of law enforcement agencies through voluntary compliance with contemporary, internationally recognized standards of excellence, according to POSTC.