Police, fire departments still working on accreditation

The Hoover police and fire departments have been working to get accredited for more than two years and are taking incremental steps to achieve that.

The Police Department enrolled in the accreditation process with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies in May 2019. CALEA, a joint effort of four major groups of law enforcement executives, is considered the “gold standard” in the field, Hoover police Chief Nick Derzis said.

The Hoover Police Department is attempting to achieve advanced certification and, to do that, must show that the department meets more than 360 standards of excellence in public safety, said Lt. Matt Tomberlin, who is leading the effort for the department.

The accreditation process includes a thorough examination to see if the department has proper policies and procedures in place, and agencies must show proof that they are following those policies and procedures, Tomberlin said.

If Hoover meets CALEA’s criteria and standards, “we’ll feel like we’re where we need to be,” Derzis said. “I’ve felt all along we’re doing things right. I just think that CALEA will be kind of confirming what we’ve already done in the past.”

I’ve felt all along we’re doing things right. I just think that [Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies] will be kind of confirming what we’ve already done in the past.

-Chief Nick Derzis

Over the past two years, Hoover police have been doing a thorough self-assessment, seeing how their policies and procedures match up with CALEA standards, Tomberlin said. So far, they haven’t found any major discrepancies, he said. The biggest changes have been taking additional steps to document and prove the department has been doing certain things, he said.

For example, Hoover police have always allowed suspects and witnesses to take bathroom breaks when needed during interviews, but now they have started documenting that, he said.

Also, the department has now officially adopted a “duty to intervene” policy that says Police Department employees must intervene in situations where they see another employee stepping out of line and doing something inappropriate, Tomberlin said.

In the past, it was just understood that was a part of the oath that officers took, but now there is a written policy to the same effect, he said. That’s something that was recommended nationally by CALEA in light of incidents in recent years where officers did not stop colleagues from doing certain things, he said.

The next step is a “mock assessment” by accreditation officers from other departments. Then, Hoover will take five to six months to make any needed adjustments before CALEA does a virtual assessment, followed by an on-site assessment, Tomberlin said.

The findings will be submitted to a review committee, which in turn will make a recommendation to the 21-person commission. Hoover will have a final interview during one of CALEA’s conferences and hopefully will achieve accreditation by the summer of 2022, he said.

FIRE DEPARTMENT

The Hoover Fire Department is seeking accreditation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence.

The Fire Department created a strategic plan between April 2019 and November 2019, evaluated community risks and standards of coverage between November 2019 and April 2020 and conducted a self-assessment between April 2020 and June of this year, Chief Clay Bentley said.

The department now will be reviewed by peer agencies and then hopes to make a presentation to a commission with the Center for Public Safety Excellence to achieve final accreditation in November or December, Bentley said.

In developing its strategic plan, the Fire Department pulled together 40 diverse stakeholders to identify the community’s needs and expectations, he said.

When the Insurance Services Office evaluates fire departments and gives ratings to help insurance companies determine rates, it grades only a department’s ability to suppress structural fires, Bentley said.

The Center for Public Safety Excellence will look at a much broader range of functions that also includes emergency medical services, he said. The center evaluates 252 performance indicators, 86 core competencies and 45 criteria in 10 major categories, he said.

As of now, no other fire department in Alabama has achieved accreditation, Bentley said.