Hoquiam Police Department achieves state accreditation status

Awarded to departments that follow police operation standards for four years

November 28, 2017 7:00 pm
The Hoquiam Police Department was presented an accreditation award from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs Nov. 15. Hoquiam previously got the award in 2013, which is given to police agencies that prove they have followed state police operating standards for four years in a row.
The Hoquiam Police Department was presented an accreditation award from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs Nov. 15. Hoquiam previously got the award in 2013, which is given to police agencies that prove they have followed state police operating standards for four years in a row.

For the second time, the Hoquiam Police Department has received an accreditation award for complying with best practices in terms of police operating standards. The award is based on criteria in 132 categories over the past four years.

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs announced the awards at their training conference in Chelan Nov. 15. Hoquiam also got the award in 2013.

“I am very proud of the members of the Hoquiam Police Department,” said Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Myers. “Every member of the department worked hard over the last four years to demonstrate we follow our policies and procedures which match the best practice standards as outlined in (state) accreditation.”

The department went through an on-site inspection in September, and the subsequent final report was reviewed by the Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs Executive Board the week prior to the awards.

“We passed our re-accreditation inspection with a ‘clean report’,” said Myers. “The assessors were impressed with our policies, our operations over the last four years and the way the accreditation files were organized. They commented the files were some of the best they have ever seen.”

A total of eight agencies were recognized, including the Edmonds, Lynwood, Chehalis and Sumner police departments.

“Those law enforcement agencies that voluntarily elect to pursue accreditation are not only seeking organizational excellence by meeting best practices, they are instilling higher levels of discipline and accountability throughout their agency. Accredited agencies are not only actively working to minimize risk through best practices they are moving ahead of non-accredited peer agencies by proving compliance with a rigorous set of standards that sends a powerful message to the community that inspires public confidence and trust” said Chelan County Sheriff Brian Burnett, Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs 2017-18 President.

The state accreditation program was started 30 years ago and was one of the first programs of its kind in America. Many other state and national accrediting organizations have modeled their programs after Washington state’s.