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2018/12/12 - Walter's Blog: O'Fallon Police Department ILEAP Accreditation

Democracy on the Front Lines
City Administrator’s Blog
Walter Denton

How do you know how you are doing? This is a question we continually ask ourselves at the City of O’Fallon. Unlike a business, there are no simple measures for success: we do not have profit statements or stock market prices to determine whether the City is doing well. Instead, we utilize a number of tools including performance measures, citizen surveys, audits, and accreditations.

The O’Fallon Police Department recently received an accreditation through the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. The accreditation consists of a comprehensive evaluation of the Police Department based on 67 standards covering administration, operations, training, and personnel. The O’Fallon Police Department is one of only three police agencies south of Champaign and is the only police agency in the Metro East to be accredited.

Why is this important? While police departments are under increasing scrutiny, there are more demands on the police to keep communities safe from crime, drugs, terrorism, and active shooter events. In addition, citizen surveys consistently rank Public Safety as one of the most important services provided by the City of O’Fallon. It is crucial that we provide a safe community to O’Fallon residents and use our resources wisely.

The accreditation process conducts an evaluation of best practices in law enforcements. Receiving the accreditation is confirmation that our Police Department is providing services according to the highest standards.

The O’Fallon Police Department was presented with the accreditation at the December 7 City Council meeting. The accreditation is the culmination of years of tradition to be a premier police department. The accreditation process was coordinated through a team of Police Department employees that included Lt. David Matevey, Lt. Kerry Andrews, Mick Hunter, and Leah Wilson. They are to be commended for their efforts and congratulations to all Police Department employees for the dedication to excellence.