Most Municipal Police Departments In State Not Accredited

But many starting to seek the credentials

Chief Carl Sferrazza has used it as a template for 18 years to maintain the Enfield Police Department's standing as one of the most effective and cutting-edge agencies in the region.

Chief Jack Drumm used accreditation – the law-enforcement version of that badge of competence so crucial to schools and hospitals – to help pull the scandal-laden Madison police department out of the rubble.

Different chiefs. Different reasons. Same idea: Use the accreditation process -- that quest every three years to pass muster in the eyes of unforgiving outside evaluators – to initially force feed nationally tested standards to the police officers, and then watch the approach, over time, become ingrained in the department.

From high-speed pursuits, use of force, and preserving evidence, to racial profiling, handling prisoners and dealing with immigrants – cops who work for accredited departments can avoid the pitfalls of a backward agency – that dusting off of the outdated policy manual when there's a crisis, or learning upon moving to another shift that the new crew "does things their way."

But the list of accredited police departments in Connecticut is shorter than the public may think, despite the obvious benefits. Some chiefs say the accreditation process would strain department resources.

Only 29 of the 104 municipal, state, university and tribal police departments in Connecticut are accredited. That number represents all of the agencies with the exclusive, more costly national credential, or the state's version, which is free, offered in phases, and is relatively easier to attain. About half of the agencies have both designations.

But the percentage of credentialed agencies here is too low given the pace of reform nationally, and the serious missteps of some Connecticut police departments that have led to federal indictments, firings, or costly discipline, say state criminal-justice officials, police trainers, and police chiefs.

"I'd like to see more,'' said Harold T. "Ted" Lemay, the former Avon police lieutenant who has run the state's accreditation program at the Police Officers Standards and Training Council in Meriden for the last seven years.

"As a citizen, I'd like to see every department accredited,'' said Wethersfield Police Chief James Cetran, whose agency holds both the state and national credentials. "The department tends to be more professional and you know where you stand because you're standards have been tested against national practices.''

Michael Lawlor, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's criminal-justice adviser, said there's a clear trend among agencies nationally to adopt the newest and best procedures.

"And accreditation validates that,'' said Lawlor, adding that there have been early discussions in Connecticut about mandating some level of accreditation or tying it to grants or other funding.

"More and more leaders are recognizing the consequences of not keeping pace,'' said Lawlor, a former state representative in East Haven and former state prosecutor. "The East Haven Police Department is a case in point, but there are others. You expose yourself to multi-million dollar lawsuits, or Department of Justice investigations, or both.''