North Wales Police earn accreditation

The final I’s have been dotted, and T’s have been crossed — and there are some of each in the word the town can now use.

And after years of planning and preparation, the North Wales Police Department can now officially call itself accredited, police Chief Dave Erenius told council this week.

“A month ago, we finished our assessment for accreditation, and I came in and told you that they said we passed, but we couldn’t officially say we passed, because we had to go in front of the commission,” Erenius said.

After arriving in town in early 2022, Erenius has steadily worked on revamping the department’s police and procedures, revising the ways the department interacts with local schools and kids, adding new officers and modernizing their training, practices and standards. Accreditation status is awarded by the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, which sets out hundreds of standards and policies that local departments must prove they meet and provides access to enhanced training and accountability, while reducing liabilities.

Nearby departments with accreditation status include Montgomery Township which first earned accreditation in 2004, Upper Gwynedd which has held that status since 2006, Towamencin since 2012,  Hatfield which earned accreditation in 2015, and Lansdale’s police department secured that status in early 2022. In September the chief told council that the town had been visited by assessors and all signs were good, and during the Oct. 28 council meeting, the chief said he and department accreditation manager Tara Claffey recently made their final case to the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission.

“Last Thursday, Tara and I went up, and sat in front of the commission: they read your report, and they vote on it. So I can tell you now that we are officially accredited,” he said, drawing claps and cheers from council and borough Manager Christine Hart. 

“I wanted to thank the mayor and all the council proper, and Christine for the help. We couldn’t do it without everybody’s help,” he said, presenting the official certification from PLEAC to council.

Erenius joked that one topic did come up during that application process that the chief said he hopes to discuss further during the town’s budget discussions: police staffing levels.

“They did comment several times during our presentation about how small we are. Scranton PD was there, and the contingent that Scranton PD brought to receive their award was twice the size of our police department. So we have that going for us,” he said.

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