Police department receives state chiefs' best-practices accreditation at Monday's council meeting

The Denison Police Department was presented with a certificate of accreditation from the Texas Police Chiefs Association Foundation during the City Council meeting on Monday, Nov. 2.

Gainesville Police Chief Kevin Phillips presented the award, KTEN reported Wednesday. According to the station, the foundation gives the recognition to law enforcement agencies that volunteer for the review and show they comply with more than 185 professional best practices.

A voluntary standard

Agencies are not required by the state to seek the designation, and most Texas departments do not hold it. When the Howe Police Department earned the same status in February, the City of Howe said the designation put Howe among fewer than 300 of the roughly 2,800 law enforcement agencies in Texas to reach it.

The foundation's letter to Howe at the time called the process "extensive and challenging" and described the result as "Texas' Gold Standard in Law Enforcement Accreditation," according to the City of Howe's announcement.

First award or renewal

KTEN's report did not say whether Monday's certificate marked Denison's first accreditation or a renewal of an earlier one. In its February announcement, the City of Howe described Sherman and Denison as the only other accredited police agencies in Grayson County at the time.

The City of Denison had not posted its own announcement of the award on its news page as of Thursday morning.

Sources

KTEN

cityofhowetx.gov