Fair Lawn Police Department Receives Accreditation

Fair Lawn's police department was one of 29 state, county and local law enforcement agencies awarded accreditation last week by the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police at a hearing in Princeton.

The designation, a significant achievement for the department that requires its policies and procedures comply with best police practices in New Jersey and acts as a protective barrier against risk and liability in civil litgation, has been a long time coming.

Acting Capt. Ron Patterson, the department's former accreditation manager, fine tuned the department's policies and procedures for two years in ultimate preparation for a visit and evaluation from assessors with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement.

The assessors paid the department an on-site visit in early March after which they told Patterson that everything went smoothly, so last week's recognition didn't come as a surprise. It did, however, come as a relief.

"It was a long endeavor and I’m glad we’ve reached the summit," said Patterson, who explained that the purpose of professionalizing the department's procedures is to get officers on the same page and make them more accountable for their actions. "There’s still room for officer discretion, but certain procedures have to be followed. You don’t want to have one shift doing it one way, another shift doing it a second way and another shift doing it a third way."

Now that the department is accredited, its new accreditation manager, Lt. Brian LaRosa (Patterson has since been promoted), must continue to ensure the proper policies are upheld so it can stand up to an on-site review when assessors return in three years.

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