Police eye accreditation

BROOKSVILLE - Early steps have been made toward bringing the Brooksville Police Department in line with state and national standards.

Police Chief George Turner expects accrediting his agency will clear up past problems and foster growth in the department.

For example, sloppy bookkeeping over the years led to a mess in the evidence room that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is still trying to sort out.

An accredited agency is kept accountable for its storage through guidelines laid out by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation.

Evidence is just one aspect of many in a department's operation that comes under scrutiny when applying for accreditation.

That gives the department a good name both in court and in the law enforcement community. There are currently four openings in the agency including a sergeant's position, but no one outside Brooksville applied for the supervisor job.

An accredited agency is more attractive to folks hunting for a job, Turner explained.

Becoming fully accredited is a painstaking process that takes up to three years. Some agencies dedicate staff full-time toward achieving accreditation and preparing the agency for the re-accreditation process.

A small agency like Brooksville can't spare the manpower, but the chief is confident that the department can make accreditation a reality within two years.

Every decision Turner has made since he took office Sept. 26 "has been towards the ultimate, final goal of being accredited," he said.

The department's policies have already been completely re-written and a city attorney is currently looking them over.

A staff member from the sheriff's office, which was accredited in 2000, has visited the station on Veterans Avenue to inspect the facility. There are minor things that need attention, such as protecting the emergency generator in the rear.

Ongoing discussions about the possibility of moving Brooksville's dispatch to the sheriff's office have played a part in the accreditation process.

Records keeping will not be taken over by the sheriff's office, so the Jan. 1 deadline is no longer important. If dispatch stays put, it will have to be accredited, too.

Once the state standard has been reached, it's only a short step towards gaining national accreditation, Turner said.

Cost is expected to be minimal. A department with a force of just more than 20 officers requires a $300 sign-up fee, plus any modifications brought to the department.

Turner said it wouldn't be anything "above and beyond budget."