PRESS RELEASE

On July 12, 2003, the Horsham Township Police Department achieved state accreditation status, becoming Pennsylvania's 10th accredited law enforcement agency. Currently, there are only 12 law enforcement agencies state accredited out of over 1,200 agencies state wide.

The Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, reviewed the assessment team report and voted unanimously to grant accreditation status to the Horsham Township Police Department. At an awards dinner on July 14, 2003 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Chief Robert H. Ruxton was presented the formal Certificate of Accreditation for the department.

Accreditation is the ongoing process whereby agencies evaluate policy and procedure against established professional criteria and have compliance with that criteria verified by an independent and authoritative commission. The criteria or standards are policy development guidelines that represent a level of professional quality service delivery. The true indicator of compliance, however, lies with an evaluation or assessment by trained and independent peers appointed by the commission. The establishment of meaningful and professional standards and an assessment of compliance to those standards are, therefore, the two fundamentals of an accreditation program.

The Horsham Township Police Department began the process in the beginning of 2002. The police department's policies were all reviewed and either revised or completely rewritten to comply with the 108 state standards. The standards are divided into 4 sections to include: Organization and Management Role, Law Enforcement Function, Staff Support Responsibilities, and Pennsylvania Legal Mandates. All department members were trained in the new polices and then they were implemented. The final phase was to collect and organize documentation to provide compliance.

In June of 2003, the police department went through an accreditation assessment. The assessment was conducted by 3 state trained and certified assessors. The assessors were given complete access to all areas of the station, records and personnel. The assessment included an initial tour of the police station and a static display of agency equipment and resources. During this time, the assessors completed a detailed inspection of the station for compliance of standards directly related to the facility. The teams then reviewed the accreditation files which provide documentation of compliance to the standards. Documentation may be in the form of, but not limited to: official police reports, official police records, completed forms required by the department or the state, photographs, video, observation, and interview with personnel. In addition, 2 assessors rode along with officers on patrol to observe and interview.

The assessment team report concluded that: "The Horsham Township Police Department exemplifies excellence in providing professional police services to their community. This positive, proactive approach was demonstrated throughout the onsite assessment, from the static display, through the file reviews and interviews, to the ride-alongs and the exit interview. The agency goes above and beyond in their assessment and response to actual and anticipated community needs and works diligently to cultivate essential community partnerships with pride and perseverance." The team highly recommended to the commission that accredited status be granted.

Becoming an accredited law enforcement agency was only possible because of the dedication, professionalism and hard work of all members of the Horsham Township Police Department. As the Chief Executive Officer of the department, Chief Ruxton was fully committed and provided all the resources needed to successfully achieve accredited status. The accreditation process was fully supported by the Township Manager, Michael McGee and the Township Council. The police department also received much help and support from other township departments. As this is an ongoing process, the police department has already started to prepare for reaccreditation in 3 years.

Silver Buckle Award

On October 18, 2002 the Horsham Township Police Department was presented the 2002 Governor's Highway Safety Award in the Silver Buckle catagory. This award is presented each year to one police department each for townships of 1st class, 2nd class, cities of 1st class, cities of 2nd class and boroughs, as well as one State Police Barracks. There are only 6 awards given per year. This marks the third time that Horsham Township has been presented this award.

The Silver Buckle Award is presented to police departments that have scored in five different sections of the award criteria. The catagories are:

• Seat Belt Policy of the Department
• Involvement in the Community to Promote Restraint System Usage
• Enforcement of Restraint Systems
• Training
• Usage Rate Withing the Community