Group analyzing police efficacy

An accrediting organization is examining the city's police department. Public comment is sought, officials say.

By LEANORA MINAI

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 30, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Are enough police officers assigned to various tasks? Is money budgeted for covert operations? Is the crime analysis unit keeping track of crime patterns?

These are some of the 439 police standards a national agency is examining this week during an on-site assessment of the St. Petersburg Police Department.

Residents have two chances Monday to offer comments about police policies and operations. They can call the assessment team from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. or speak from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. during a hearing at City Hall.

"They just don't want to hear from us," Sgt. Maurice McGough said of the assessors. "They want to hear from the community as well."

This is a voluntary process every five years for the city's reaccreditation bid to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. (CALEA) in Fairfax, Va. CALEA is a private, non-profit organization that sets professional police standards.

First accredited in 1985, St. Petersburg's police department was recertified in 1990 and 1995. Tampa's police department was reaccredited in 1998.

The distinction symbolizes professional excellence, officials said. St. Petersburg has been working on updating its practices since 1998. The cost is $13,000 to $14,000.

Rick Stelljes, police spokesman, likened an accredited police force to an accredited hospital or university.

"The idea is that you're getting the best-quality service from an accredited agency because they have met the highest standards today," Stelljes said.

During a mock assessment of the department last October, about 71 standards were singled out for improvement. Since then, department managers have been tweaking them for this week's review.

"We feel we're in very good shape," said McGough, who is heading the reaccreditation effort.

Law enforcement officers William M. Howe of St. Louis (Missouri) County Police; Nandy Maiden of Virginia State Police; and Robert Stack of Lexington-Fayette Urban County Police in Kentucky arrived Saturday and will be in St. Petersburg through Wednesday.

Part of their assessment involves reviewing 439 files. Each file should contain a police standard as well as the department's documentation to prove it adheres to the standard.

The assessors also will interview employees, tour department units and view cruisers and equipment at 8:30 a.m. today in a parking lot across from police headquarters.

"They can come through and see immediately that all of these things really do exist, so they don't have to spend time going through the files," Stelljes said.

After the assessment, a report will be sent to the CALEA board of commissioners.

The 21-member commission is composed of 11 law enforcement professionals and 10 representatives of the public and private sectors. They will meet by the end of the year and decide whether to award reaccreditation.

To comment

If you want to comment on the St. Petersburg Police Department:

Call (727) 892-5491 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday or attend a public hearing at St. Petersburg City Hall from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Telephone comments and appearances at the public session are limited to 10 minutes.

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