Village Of Mamaroneck PD Set To Earn Key State Accreditation

MAMARONECK, NY — The Village of Mamaroneck Police Department has been recommended to receive New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services accreditation in December.

The move will put the department among an elite group of local law enforcement agencies.

Following three days of in-person visits in September and a rigorous 18-month process that included an exhaustive internal and external examination of policies and procedures, the VMPD is being recommended to receive accreditation this December by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (NYS DCJS), according to VMPD Chief Sandra DiRuzza.

"Accreditation provides formal recognition that the department meets and/or exceeds the expectations of quality, demonstrates that we perform in a professional manner, has formalized policies in place to govern our operational practices and procedures, and our employees contribute to the department’s mission and know what is expected of them," Chief DiRuzza said, announcing the recognition. "This is an important achievement to maintain trust and transparency with the community."

The Village of Mamaroneck Police Department spent nearly 18 months preparing itself for accreditation and in doing so, changed the face of the department, officials said. The assessment team for this accreditation review, without reservation, will recommend to the Law Enforcement Accreditation Council at NYS DCJS that the Village of Mamaroneck PD be accredited in December.

"Accreditation is difficult to achieve," Chief (Ret) Russell A. O'Dell, team leader of the NYS DCJS Assessment Team, said. "That's why only a little more than 30 percent of the police agencies in New York State are accredited. Not only does an agency have to meet or exceed 111 exacting standards for their initial accreditation, but they must also prove to a team of assessors, over a period of three days, that they are following those 111 standards with their policies and procedures every five years thereafter. It's a ton of work."

Other local Westchester County police departments accredited by NYS DCJS include the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, the Town of Harrison, the City of New Rochelle, the City of Rye, and the Village of Scarsdale.

"I want to thank Chief DiRuzza and all the members of the Village’s Police Department who participated in this lengthy process," Village of Mamaroneck Mayor Tom Murphy said. "One of the major goals set forth in the Final 2021 Plan of the Village’s Police Reform and Reinvention Committee (PRRC) was to achieve accreditation status. Attempts to earn that status has been on and off for at least the last twenty years."

The NYS DCJS Accreditation Council will meet in December to officially accredit the Village of Mamaroneck Police Department as a New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services accredited police agency.

About New York State Division of Criminal Justice Service’s Accreditation Program

The Law Enforcement Agency Accreditation Program of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Service (NYS DCJS) 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 sheriffs’ offices in New York State are eligible to participate in the program.

Agencies must meet a set of standards in three categories: Administration, Training and Operations.

Agencies are accredited / reaccredited every five years. Staff from the DCJS Office of Public Safety administer the program and accreditation process, assisted by program assessors who evaluate agencies’ compliance with program standards.

New York was the first state in the country to sponsor a law enforcement accreditation program. Operational since 1989, the program has evolved to address legal, policing and social issues, with program standards revised, added or removed to remain responsive to the needs of New York’s law enforcement community. More about the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Service’s Accreditation Program can be found here.