The Federal Way Police Department’s dedication to protecting our community includes the commitment to holding ourselves accountable to the highest professional standards and continually working to improve our department.

Our national accreditation is an important, visible element of that commitment.

After undergoing a successful on-site assessment and a thorough review of our procedures and protocols this past August, the Federal Way Police Department went before the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies for reaccreditation and received the Gold Standard Award with Excellence. Accreditation represents a significant professional achievement — as an organization, we are all very proud of this accomplishment.

The process of being accredited as a law enforcement agency is rigorous, with less than 10 percent of all law enforcement agencies in the United States accredited, the Federal Way Police Department is one of only seven agencies in the state of Washington that is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation. This achievement shows the department is “among the leaders in policing in the region” and demonstrates our commitment to excellence.

The standards for the Law Enforcement Accreditation program provide best practice parameters and guidance for law enforcement agencies voluntarily choosing to achieve accreditation. This set of standards continues to provide a process to systematically conduct an internal review and assessment of an agency’s policies and procedures, and make adjustments wherever necessary to meet a body of internationally accepted standards.

Accreditation:

• Requires an agency to develop a comprehensive, well thought out, uniform set of written directives. This is one of the most successful methods for reaching administrative and operational goals, while also providing direction to personnel.

• Standards that provide the necessary reports and analyses a chief needs to make fact-based, informed management decisions.

• Requires a preparedness program, so an agency is ready to address natural or man-made unusual occurrences.

• Requires mechanisms for developing or improving upon an agency’s relationship with the community.

• Strengthens an agency’s accountability, both within the agency and the community, through a continuum of standards that clearly define authority, performance and responsibilities.

• Reduces an agency’s liability and risk exposure because it demonstrates that internationally recognized standards for law enforcement have been met, as verified by a team of independent, outside assessors trained by the Commission on Accreditation.

• Facilitates an agency’s pursuit of professional excellence.

With over 480 standards in the Law Enforcement Accreditation program, there is a lot of blood (OK, not literally!), sweat and tears that go into the accreditation process. The Federal Way Police Department achieved their initial accreditation in 2002 and has been reaccredited (which occurs every three years) in 2005, 2008, 2011, and now again in 2014.

Our commitment is to continue to work hard to provide our citizens with the highest level of service possible and work towards strengthening our relationships with the citizens we serve. Thank you for letting us serve you. We have an incredible staff of dedicated police officers and civilian staff willing to sacrifice their own safety to protect our citizens.

Andy Hwang is chief of police for the Federal Way Police Department