Township police pass test of standards
Department gets state accreditation status
TOWAMENCIN >> It’s a big accomplishment each time, and does not get any easier.
The Towamencin Police Department was honored recently for once again achieving statewide accreditation status.
“Out of the 1,000-plus law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania, only 131 agencies are currently accredited. And I’m very happy to say Towamencin became accredited for the first time in 2012,” said police Chief Tim Troxel.
“We have gained reaccreditation every year since our original in 2012,” he said.
The accreditation program was established by the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association in 2001, to develop standards for professional conduct by police departments across the state. Troxel outlined those specifics for the board of supervisors on Aug. 25, before presenting the board with the department’s 2021 reaccreditation certificate from the Pennsylvania Law En- forcement Accreditation Commission.
“The accreditation commission sets 139 policies and procedures for the way we operate. They come in and assess all of these things, and you have to meet all of these standards,” he said.
“For each standard, you have to show up to three of what they call ‘proof of compliance’ — somehow or other, you have to demonstrate that you meet that standard, whether it’s through reports the officers write indicating we’re doing things in a certain way, to the way we handle our evidence, our use of force policies, all the things that affect policing,” Troxel said.
Those standards and specifications change constantly, particularly after turbulent years like 2020, as changing trends in law enforcement nationwide are distilled through the state commission to local departments.
“Every three years, a team of assessors from the state comes in, and they look at your three proofs of compliance, for every standard, for every year,” Troxel said.
“And you have to meet those standards. If you don’t meet those standards, they don’t reac credit you,” he said.
In Towamencin’s case, a mock accreditation was done in February with PLEAC officials, then the formal visit in late April, which led to a recommendation that the department be fully reaccredited for a fresh three-year period. That certification was approved by a unanimous vote by PLEAC in July, Troxel told the board, and the certificate now hangs in the department’s lobby alongside three others for prior years.
“It’s due in no small part to the efforts of all of the officers in the department, that we’re able to stay accredited,” he said.
“I can’t take any credit at all, other than if they come to me and say we need to change a policy. But the officers are doing the job the way they need to do it, and the whole department’s working together as a team to make sure we keep our standards up to that level.”
Other benefits from the accreditation status can include lower insurance costs for the department, he added, and the accreditation can act as a deterrent if an incident occurs that could prompt litigation.
“If somebody is looking to sue a department for anything — which, knock on wood, doesn’t happen often — but when a lawyer’s looking to bring suit, if the department they may be looking to sue is accredited, they sometimes think twice, because they know we have our act together,” Troxel said.
He then thanked the board of supervisors for their ongoing support of the department, and vowed to keep the same standard as long as he remains chief. Supervisors Chairman Chuck Wilson added his own congratulations and thanks on behalf of the board to the department.
“That benefits everyone — the community, the department, the taxpayers. It benefits everybody,” Wilson said.
For more on the accreditation program visit www. PAChiefs.org and for more on the department, visit www.TowamencinPD.org or search for “” on Facebook.
“We have gained reaccreditation every year since our original in 2012.” — Towamencin police Chief Tim Troxel