The Old Bridge Police Department is working toward receiving accreditation status from the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police.
“When we become accredited, it shows that we’re holding ourselves to a higher standard,” said Sgt. Joe Mandola, who also works as accreditation manager with the department.
According to the chiefs’ association website, accreditation is a “progressive and time-proven way of helping law enforcement agencies calculate and improve their overall performances. … Participating agencies conduct a thorough self-analysis to determine how existing operations can be adapted.”
Accreditation has been earned by just 115 of the more than 470 eligible agencies in the state, and requires that police departments comply with specific guidelines for police operations, according to the chiefs’ association website.
“Not too many departments have it, because it’s a tough thing to do and it’s a lot of work,” said Old Bridge Mayor Owen Henry.
For Old Bridge’s 86-member police force, the accreditation process began nearly two years ago, Mandola said. Since then, the department’s policies and procedures have been scrutinized.
“Our policies were reviewed and in some cases rewritten to ensure that we are now more accountable and responsible for all of our actions,” he said.
Among the measures taken to ensure the department is acting in accordance with chiefs’ association guidelines, the evidence vault was audited and its reporting process was revamped Mandola added.
“Throughout the process, we’ve relied on web-based software [to train] our officers. They go in and review all the [updated] policies again and sign for them. Also, if anything comes up during our inservice training, we refresh them and retrain them,” he said.
Mandola said Old Bridge police “received several phone calls from the community with positive comments regarding the department,” during a two-hour public comment period April 28.
“Public input on police services in town is a critical component of the professional accreditation process, according to the mayor.
While receiving accreditation may not have a direct impact on crime on the streets, it will strengthen the protocol police will follow when making arrests or securing evidence, Mandola said.
“When we pursue something, now all our cases will be airtight, our evidence will be airtight and there will probably be more convictions,” he said. In addition, accreditation will be a financial boon for the township.
“It should drop liability insurance rates for the township a decent amount. Because we’re a better Police Department, they’re better protected from liability,” he said.
The Old Bridge Police Department’s most recent step toward accreditation came when the department passed an on-site inspection by the chiefs’ association.
“That’s almost the last phase. They reviewed all of our records, policies and operations, and we met all the standards.
According to Police Chief William Volkert, the department is on schedule to move forward with a final review in mid- to late summer.
“To arrive at this stage in the process would not have been attainable without the cooperation of the department’s officers and personnel. The men and women of the department are an extraordinary group of individuals who are committed to serving the public on a daily basis. Accreditation status would further endorse the level of integrity, courage and professionalism by which the department is committed,” Volkert said.