Mayoral Musings: Lansdale Police Receive Pennsylvania Police Chief’s Association Accreditation

Mayor Garry Herbert•

Last week, our Lansdale Borough Police Department received official notification and certification that we meet, and maintain, the highest standards in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for policing. Of the over 1,100 policing agencies in the commonwealth only around 140 meet the rigorous standards set by the PA Chief’s Association which include reviewing policies and procedures, equipment management and maintenance, training standards, and overall management of the department.

Over the last several years, the entire police department has been engaged in bringing this accreditation into reality. From the very beginning, we knew that this process was going to require some major shift in the department and the way we operated. It included the onboarding of a new records management system, the onboarding and deployment of body worn cameras, and the development of new training standards and new policies, just to name a few. Each time our department faced a new obstacle in this process, they took it in stride and worked through those changes to improve the department and meet the highest standard.

But what does it really mean for all of us here?

This accreditation is more than just a piece of paper. It is the symbol and recognition that Lansdale Police are continually striving to better serve our residents across all walks of life. It represents our commitment to standing side by side with residents and furthering our community policing efforts so that, together, we can focus on building a shared vision for our home. Finally, this accreditation represents a desire to hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards to ensure that we are meeting, and hopefully exceeding, the expectations of our residents always.

Policing is a constantly evolving profession that, more now than ever, needs to embrace change. One of the important parts of this accreditation is that it is not stagnant. It can be taken away and we must regularly prove that we will continue to meet the standards set by the Pennsylvania Police Chief’s Association. Through dedication to this endeavor our police department is committing themselves to building a better department. We will not stagnate. We will not settle. We will continue to evolve and improve so that we all can move forward together.

Thanks goes out to the entire Lansdale Police Department for their steadfast work on this project. I cannot express my gratitude enough to their hard work. Special thanks go out to Chief Mike Trail, Lt. Devlin, and Christine Schreiner, who were the beating heart of this project. Their passion and commitment to reaching an approved accreditation was, and is, exemplary.

Some Noted Benefits of Accreditation