Simsbury Police Department Works Toward Accreditation

A team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies has been in Simsbury since April 16 and will depart today, April 19.

The visit is part of the Simsbury Police Department's efforts to gain national accreditation. The process is voluntary. The idea is to enhance law enforcement as a profession and improve law enforcement service delivery.

As a part of the on-site assessment, members of the community were invited to offer comments directly to assessors at a public information session on Monday in town hall.

One speaker was Joseph L. Loewy, executive director of the Simsbury Housing Authority. The authority averages more than 50 calls to 911 each year.

"Every single officer — many are known to us and our residents by first name — responding to our location has acted in a professional manner, but even more importantly, with a compassion and caring for the person needing assistance," he said.

He mentioned Community Services Officer John Mimnaugh as helping with conflict resolution between residents, married couples or people facing emotional crises.

"He also interacts with our staff, particularly our resident services coordinator and me as executive director, assisting us with problem resolution,"  Loewy said.

He praised the department’s response time, calm demeanor and help in assessing a situation and getting the correct help to the scene in medical emergencies. He also praised the dispatchers for always answering immediately and asking the critical questions and sending the appropriate aid quickly.

"We couldn’t ask for anything better," he said of the 35-member police department.

Bill Welch, former chief of police in Lewiston, Maine, and the assessment team leader, said he has been doing this type of work for many years and he praised the spirit of cooperation by the Simsbury Police Department.

“No one makes them go through this process,” he said, adding the department has gone “over and above” what has been asked of them.

“That’s a terrific endorsement that he just gave,” said Police Commission Chairman Mike Long after the meeting ended.

The assessment team’s job while in town was to examine all aspects of the policies and procedures, management, operations, and support services.

Verification by the team that the Simsbury Police Department meets the commission's state-of-the-art standards is part of the voluntary process to gain initial accreditation, a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence.

Welch said less than 4 percent of departments across the country are accredited. The agency's website is www.calea.org for more information.  It  is based in Gainesville, VA.

Next in the process will be the presentation of the team's findings to Simsbury Police Chief Peter Ingvertsen. Then Ingvertsen will travel to Cincinnati in July for a conference where he will answer questions about the department, and it is there the department will either receive accreditation or not. The department has been accredited by the state since 2007.