Chief seeks outside critique

Accreditation is key for a more professional department, he says.

By JOHN FRANK, Times Staff Writer
Published January 28, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT Police Chief George Turner has made accreditation a priority.

BROOKSVILLE - At the Brooksville Police Department, the buzzword is "accreditation."

Chief George Turner says state and national accreditation is the top priority in his effort to rebuild a department crippled by past controversies and ongoing internal investigations.

"Everything we are doing is working toward accreditation," he said in a recent interview. "It's a standard of excellence compared to agencies throughout the nation."

The move is linked to a larger effort to make the department more professional, an objective Turner made a priority in his application for the job. Earlier this month, he brought in an outside firm to test applicants for the two open sergeant's positions.

It's definitely a different tone from the days of former Chief Ed Tincher, whose nearly three-decade reign over the department was often marked by differences with the city administration.

The first step toward accreditation - and a new future for the troubled department - is a complete overhaul of the department's policy manual. Many of the provisions dated to the 1980s and were not updated as laws and procedures changed.

"We had policies, they just weren't up to date," Turner said of the manual he inherited. "And in other areas we didn't have them at all.

"The policies that were in place weren't followed, and that's really what led to the problems in the past," he continued. "As an accredited agency, we will not have those problems."

Turner said the department couldn't update the existing manual and needed to rewrite it using established policies from other similar-sized accredited agencies.

"We did not start from scratch. I didn't want to reinvent the wheel," he explained.

Much of it was completed late last year and is being reviewed by the department's attorneys. Turner hopes the City Council will sign off soon.

The department is seeking certification through the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation and then at the national level. The process takes months, if not years, and requires compliance with 276 standards and an on-site review. Then every three years, the department needs to be reaccredited.

It's not an easy task. Just ask Dianne Hill, the accreditation manager for the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. The agency began the accreditation process in 1999, and she's glad to see Brooksville moving in that direction.

"It's a good step," she said. "You can tell people all you want how professional your department is, but accreditation proves it."

Most large law enforcement agencies, including the Pasco and Citrus sheriff's offices, are accredited. But many smaller agencies forgo the certification because the cost and staffing make it prohibitive.

Turner said it's worth it.

"It's a hard process," he said, "and not everyone can be accredited. You have to meet a lot of standards."

John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or 754-6114.

[Last modified January 27, 2008, 20:43:32]