POUGHKEEPSIE – State Senator Rob Rolison, the former mayor of the City of Poughkeepsie returned to city hall and brought money from Albany for the city’s police department. Rolison, calling the work of the police “vital” to the safety of the community, delivered $60,000 to help the department purchase equipment for the short-staffed department.
Police Captain Steven Minard said that the funding will help the department in several ways. “This funding will pay for essential training and equipment necessary to maintain our accreditation,” noting that money will be used for protective equipment for the officers as well as safety lighting on police apparatus.
Rolison, a retired police detective, stressed the need for funding the police department. “This will support training for the officers to help them do their jobs the way we need them to be done.”
The accreditation referenced by Captain Minard is administered by the State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). According to the DCJS website, “the Law Enforcement Agency Accreditation Program is voluntary and designed to improve an agency’s effectiveness, efficiency, and professionalism; promote training, and foster public confidence in law enforcement. Police departments and sheriff’s offices are eligible to participate in the program.”
Law enforcement agencies must meet a set of standards in the categories of administration, training and operations. The accreditation acknowledges that the department meets or exceeds the expectations of professionalism, has formal policies in place outlining policies and procedures, and that the officers contribute to the department’s mission with an understanding of the agency’s and the public’s expectations of them.
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