IT IS WITH GREAT PRIDE THAT CHIEF MARTIN ANNOUNCED THE FULL RE-ACCREDITATION OF THE SUSQUEHANNA TOWNSHIP POLICE, EFFECTIVE 9/23/09.  

The Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association introduced the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Program to the Commonwealth in July 2001.  Since then, only 39 Pennsylvania police departments have attained accredited status out of over 1200.  Out of 67 PA counties, Dauphin County has 5 of the 39 fully accredited agencies serving this area's citizens.  This shows the professionalism of this area's officers is tested and proven.  

Accreditation is a progressive and time-proven way of helping institutions evaluate and improve their overall performance. The cornerstone of this strategy lies in the promulgation of standards containing a clear statement of professional objectives. Participating administrators then conduct a thorough analysis to determine how existing operations can be adapted to meet these objectives. When the procedures are in place, a team of independent professionals is assigned to verify that all applicable standards have been successfully implemented. The process culminates with a decision by an authoritative body that the institution is worthy of accreditation.

The Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Program was designed and developed by professional law enforcement executives to provide a reasonable and cost effective plan for the professionalization of law enforcement agencies within the Commonwealth. The underlying philosophy of the program is to have a user-friendly undertaking for the departments that will result in a “success” oriented outcome.

Special thanks went out to Lt Brian Lengel for his hard work during the multi-year accreditation process, and to the many officers within the police department who assisted him.  Any questions regarding our department's program should be directed to Chief Martin.