Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • July 24, 2013 Area Ho-Ho-Kus seeks grant for accreditation process by Jennifer Crusco The Ho-Ho-Kus Council has approved a grant applica- tion to help fund the cost of either state or national accredi- tation for the borough’s police department. At press time, borough officials, including Ho-Ho-Kus Police Chief John Wanamaker, planned to meet this week with representatives from the Rogers Group, an agency that conducts departmental evaluations. Ho-Ho-Kus Borough Administrator Don Cirulli explained that the application, which was provided by the Joint Insurance Fund, acts as the application for both the $25,000 grant and the grant agreement. According to the application, the Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies and the State of New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police offer accreditation programs. JIF provides grants, not to exceed $25,000, as a means of encouraging police departments to pursue accreditation. The application also states that JIF provides reduced liability insurance premiums to police departments that successfully attain accreditation. In addi- tion, accreditation helps a municipality manage its liability and workers compensation insurance exposure, the docu- ment states. The department will have two years from the date of the agreement to achieve accreditation. If the department does not achieve accreditation within that timeframe, the borough would have three years to return the grant funds to JIF. If the municipality decides to leave JIF before the grant is repaid, the entire balance would be due on the date the borough terminated its relationship with JIF. “The municipality understands that the JIF shall not be responsible nor will it commit to provide any additional funding to achieve or maintain said accreditation,” the application states. Ho-Ho-Kus officials decided last month to take another look at accreditation. Ho-Ho-Kus Borough Attorney David Bole advised the governing body in June that he and Ho- Ho-Kus Chief Financial Officer Joseph Citro had discussed the possibility. Describing the accreditation process, Bole said profes- sionals visit a police department for an extensive evalua- tion that includes reviews of police procedures, bylaws, and promotion policies. He said the accreditation procedure is usually put out to bid, adding that an organization known as the Rogers Group generally conducts the evaluations. Bole said the entire cost of accreditation could be $35,000 to $39,000, and reported that Citro indicated that funds are available to cover the balance. In 2010, Ho-Ho-Kus resident Leo Strauss asked the council to review what benefits could be realized by having the police pursue national accreditation through CALEA. At that time, Mahwah Police Chief James N. Batelli told Villadom TIMES about the process his department followed in attaining accreditation, and outlined some of the related costs and benefits. At that time, Batelli said the department was paying $12,590 every three years, which included the approximate cost of the on-site assessment. Last week, Chief Batelli said that cost was still approxi- mately the same. However, he said the savings on annual liability insurance premiums has increased from $7,000 three years ago to approximately $15,000. Accredited departments must have detailed, written policies and procedures for officers to follow. The attention to this type of detail results in less successful negligence litigation within accredited agencies. Mahwah’s initial accreditation process took two years, and began with the department’s enrollment in the Law Enforcement Accreditation Program. The department then began its self-assessment, which included compliance with applicable standards, the development of proofs of compli- ance, and preparation for the on-site visit. CALEA then provided an initial visit during which trained assessors reviewed the department’s operations. Assessors examined recruiting procedures, manage- ment, security in the jail, how prisoners are handled, and how the department’s budget is produced. Members of the public are invited to participate in the process by making relevant statements, positive or nega- tive, about the department. Assessors ride with the officers, and the department must show proof that policy is being followed daily. While concerns have been raised about the cost and efficiency of having one police officer handle the respon- sibilities associated with accreditation, Mahwah has found an effective solution. Batelli said last week that his depart- ment previously had an accreditation manager who kept the department up-to-date so the reaccreditation process would run smoothly. In recent years, he said, the accreditation manager’s responsibilities were distributed to a number of officers and supervisors. “It has worked out well. Now eight or nine officers have input into the process,” Batelli said.