Township police earn state accreditation
The Hatfield Township Police Department has earned a high honor — one it has taken years to achieve, and will take even longer to keep.
On Wednesday the department received accreditation from the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, and police Chief Wil- liam Tierney said it’s an honor well worth earning.
“This township deserves the best, and I think we’re giving them the best,” Tierney said.
The accreditation program was established in 2001 by the Chiefs Association and is awarded by the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission, whose program coordinator, Dick Hammon, said Hatfield’s police
have proven they meet the highest standards of professional conduct possible.
“What this would entail is somebody from the outside, your peers, coming in and pretty much looking through your desk drawers to see how you work. It’s an uncomfortable feeling, but one the chief saw fit to allow us to do,” Hammon said. “Your department did an excellent job, and the assessors — we sent three assessors out once the work’s done, and those assessors had nothing but good things to say about your police department.”
Tierney said the accreditation process began “in fits and starts” under previous Chief Mark Toomey, and picked up in earnest over the past two years. He credited Lt. Jane Robertson in particular with leading the effort and said the accreditation certificate will be displayed in the department’s lobby for those interested in learning more.
“I think we’re a better police department coming out of it than going into it. It really allows you to reflect on yourself, and how you’re doing things,” Tierney said.
Commissioners’ President Tom Zipfel said the accreditation meant the department has met “the highest standard of professionalism that can be reached in Pennsyl-
vania” and thanked and congratulated the department on behalf of his fellow board members and the roughly 17,000 township residents the police protect.
“Quite frankly, for a township you can’t ask anything more of your police force,” Zipfel said.
Hammon said roughly 60 percent of the officers in the state work for accredited departments, and said the strict requirements for the department to earn reaccreditation in three years means their hard work has only begun.
“Chief, you might not be aware of this, but you’ve just
started. If there’s an easy process, it’s getting here — if there’s a harder process, it’s coming back three years from now for re-accreditation,” Hammon said. “There’s been a lot of work put into it, a lot of good work, and I’m sure there’ll be a lot more work. I hope I’ll be back three years from now saying ‘congratulations’ again.” “As do we,” Tierney replied. After the accreditation presentation, the board of commissioners approved purchases of a new emergency generator and two new police vehicles for the department, all included in the 2016 budget.