State organization reaccredits Clallam County Sheriff’s Office
Published 12:01 am Friday, May 31, 2013
PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office has been recognized for being reaccredited by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.
Sheriff Bill Benedict, Undersheriff Ron Peregrin and office accreditation manager Lorraine Shore received a plaque from association President Ed Holmes at a conference in Tacoma on May 22 for achieving the “stringent professional standards” outlined by the cops organization’s accreditation program, Benedict announced Wednesday.
Since 2009
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office originally was accredited in November 2009.
The process requires that a department be re-examined every four years to ensure that the professional accreditation standards are being maintained.
About a third of all the sheriff’s offices in the state are accredited.
To achieve accreditation or reaccreditation, an agency must comply with 132 professional standards for law enforcement, covering a range of topics from evidence storage and handling, adherence to best-practices policy and procedures to training in use-of-force policies.
Challenging process
“The accreditation process is challenging and requires a complete agency commitment to be successful,” according to a Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs brochure on accreditation.
“The purpose of law enforcement agency accreditation is to professionalize the law enforcement industry by providing a review process for agencies to be certified as operating under industry best practices and standards.”
Benedict said accreditation ensures that his office “maintains the highest standards of professionalism and accountability in policing Clallam County.”
The Port Angeles Police Department is the other accredited law enforcement agency on the North Olympic Peninsula, according to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.
