In 2021, EPD went through the recertification process with the Oregon Accreditation Alliance, which issued Eugene Police Department its first certificate of accreditation in 2015. On April 25, during the City Council’s Ceremonial Matters, 7:30 p.m., Chief Chris Skinner will virtually be presented an accreditation plaque from Oregon Accreditation Alliance Executive Director, Scott Hayes. To be accredited, an agency must meet 102 professional standards comprised of over 400 separate requirements contained within those standards. Agencies go through a recertification process every three years.
Eugene Police began the process with OAA in January 2014 and during the process, the association reviewed the department and its policies to ensure compliance to highest level of professional standards of accountability, management, and operations. The chief executive officer of an organization invites an outside third party (in this case, OAA) into their department to review and inspect everything associated with their operations and render an opinion as to whether they meet a set of best practice standards for that profession. That requires courage, transparency and commitment to high standards.
The Oregon Accreditation Alliance is governed by the Oregon Accreditation Alliance Board, comprised of representatives from the Oregon Association Chiefs of Police, the Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association, and the Oregon Chapter of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials.
Central Lane 911 received its certificate of accreditation from OAA in 2016, and has a recertification process every three years.
To be accredited, an agency must meet 102 professional standards comprised of over 400 separate requirements contained within those standards. It is an opportunity taken by the chief executive officer of an organization to invite an outside, third party into their department to review and inspect everything associated with their operations and render an opinion as to whether they meet a set of best practice standards for that profession that by itself shows commitment, transparency and dedication to excellence.
For more on OAA, http://www.oracall.org/