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Posted by: kwflatbed

MARK REYNOLDS
The Providence Journal





NORTH PROVIDENCE - The various accreditation achievements of the police pop up often on the department's Web site.

A historical synopsis on the site proudly, and repeatedly, mentions the department's accreditation, in 1984, by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. At the time, North Providence was the first department in the Northeast -- and the fourth in the nation -- to earn the distinction.

But it was a fleeting achievement, something that local officials have been trying to recapture for more than four years.

"I wish it was never let go," Mayor A. Ralph Mollis said yesterday.

Accreditation is a sort of laurel for departments who adhere to hundreds of standards governing everything from fiscal management to the security of their dispatch centers.

Supporters of accreditation say that meeting each of those standards is a good thing, because it enhances the professionalism of a police department.

Being accredited can also strengthen a police department's stature if someone tries to sue a police officer in a case where he or she has complied with the standards.

After obtaining accreditation in the mid 1980s, the police were reaccredited in 1990.

But in 1995, then Mayor G. Richard Fossa let the accreditation lapse and refused to reapply.

Later, winning back the credential became one of Mollis's goals.

Police Chief Col. Ernest Spaziano considered it a major priority when he was appointed in 2001.

A spokesman for the department, Maj. Edward Santoro, said the department is slowly and incrementally working toward a reaccreditation.

A recent fortification of the department's dispatch center was in line with the department's accreditation initiative, he said, adding that updates to the radio room at police headquarters will bring the department into compliance with some standards.

Officials, including Santoro, emphasize that lots of police departments lack CALEA accreditation. Not having it does not mean the police department is unprofessional, they say.

Newport police were accredited last month, becoming one of Rhode Island's seven police agencies with accreditation.

Other accredited police agencies are Warwick, Cumberland, Smithfield, North Smithfield, the state police and Brown University. Bristol and Johnston are seeking accreditation.

To comply with all the modern accreditation standards, North Providence police need to upgrade facilities such as the dispatch center, establish some new procedures and review and update procedures already on the books, Santoro said.

Aside from the cost of various improvements and application fees, the town would also incur an additional cost.

The police union's contract entitles police officers to $500 yearly stipend for being accredited.

With 71 sworn police officers, that would amount to $35,500.

Santoro was uncertain about when the town can expect to recapture its accreditation, citing that staffing reductions leave the force with less manpower for carrying out the different accreditation tasks.

"I'm going to be honest," he said. "The street takes priority. We've got to answer the calls first."

"Regardless of what we end up doing with it," he said, "we're going to be prepared."

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