Tukwila PD Achieves Accreditation
We are officially accredited! What exactly does that mean? Accredited means that we have achieved the highest level of professional standards for policing based on an entire independent, third-party review our of department policies, procedures, facilities, and operations. The certification is awarded for a four-year period after initial accreditation has been achieved.
The accreditation program is administered by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) and involves a multi-phase process over several months. The process includes a review of the administrative and operational effectiveness, fair recruitment and employment practices, better records management, improved use of technology, health and safety, training, codes of conduct and prisoner security, among other important law enforcement tasks.
The process to become accredited took several years to complete as it required a top to bottom review of every aspect of our operation to ensure that all required items were in compliance with the accreditation standards. Commander Kraig Boyd led the efforts to achieve this monumental task over the past several years.
A big thank you is also due to the Tukwila community who assisted with the process by voting for the bond that made the Tukwila Justice Center a reality. Our previous station which opened in 1978 for a then 25-person police department presented a significant barrier to accreditation as it was not a facility that allowed for compliance with numerous items required to attain accreditation.
As a result of our achievement of accreditation, we are now one of 63 departments in the state to have achieved this level professional standards. Thank you again to the officers past and present who assisted us with achieving this significant milestone as well as the Tukwila community for their assistance as well.
For more information about the accreditation process and program, check out this link https://www.waspc.org/accreditation
Commander Boyd and Chief Drever were presented with a plaque recognizing the department’s accreditation status this past week as the annual WASPC Fall conference.
