The Avalon Police Department has been accredited by the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police (NJSACOP) Accreditation Commissioners.  The accreditation was officially awarded on Thursday, February 14th, 2013 in Princeton, New Jersey.  The accreditation runs for three years; the Avalon Police Department will begin the re-accreditation process in 2016.  This is the first time that the Avalon Police Department has applied for, and received, accreditation.

“We are very pleased to achieve the first-ever accreditation for the Avalon Police Department”, said Avalon Police Chief William McCormick.  “The accreditation program is a time-proven way of helping law enforcement agencies including the Avalon Police Department calculate and improve their overall performances”.

The accreditation process took three years and culminated with the on-site inspection in Avalon in June, 2012.  The awarding of the accreditation was attended by Chief McCormick, retired Avalon Police Chief David Dean, Captain David McCallion, and Sergeant Frank Hood.

The NJSACOP administers the accreditation program for police departments throughout the State of New Jersey.  It requires agencies to comply with best practice standards in five basic areas:  Administration, personnel, operations, investigation, and arrestee/detainee.  The Avalon Police Department achieved compliance in 112 standards in order to achieve the accreditation. 

Participating agencies conduct a thorough self-analysis to determine how existing operations can be adapted to meet these objectives.  When the procedures are in place, a team of trained assessors verifies that the applicable standards have been successfully implemented.  Accreditation acknowledges the implementation of policies and procedures that are conceptually sound and operationally effective.

“This is simply an outstanding effort by the Avalon Police Department”, said Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi.  “Our community is very proud about this accreditation, and reaffirms our confidence that Avalon has a very professional police department that provides an extraordinary level of safety for our community”.

State accredited agencies may also be eligible for insurance rate discounts and can limit an agency’s liability and risk exposure because it demonstrates that recognized standards for law enforcement have been met, as verified by a team of independent outside-trained assessors.