The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | December 2017
Accreditation: A Cost-Effective Investment of Time and Resources Harry J. Delgado, Ed. S., Accreditation Program Manager
Just when you thought that the secret of accreditation was out in New Jersey, some agencies are still wondering whether or not to engage in the process. Sadly enough, what is stopping them are some myths: it is too much work, we are too small an agency, not enough staff, etc. We’ ve heard them all. I call it“ rationalization”- to attribute( one’ s actions) to rational and creditable motives without analysis of true and especially unconscious motives or to create an excuse or more attractive explanation for, as in rationalize the problem( Webster).
About a year ago to the day I wrote an article for this publication based on two risk management studies that addressed these issues. It supported the concept that encouraging police agencies to seek standardized practices and policies through accreditation was a cost-effective investment of time and resources. I wrote the article to offer a context for the purpose and benefit of accreditation for law enforcement agencies beyond opinion. A context with credible data and analysis to set aside the myths and deemphasize the rationalization keeping these agencies from this process and potentially at risk of increasing liability. A year later it is worth revisiting.
I attended a presentation by Paul F. Dutra, Esq., former police officer and presently an attorney and claims manager for the municipal insurer, and member of the Rhode Island Standards Review Committee. Mr. Dutra cited two risk management empirical studies that support law enforcement accreditation. These two studies: the Tennessee Municipal League( TML) Risk Management Pool of Brentwood, TN, and the Colorado Interlocal Risk Sharing Agency( CIRSA). These studies compared the loss histories of 5 accredited agencies( CALEA) against 23 non-accredited agencies. The agencies were examined for the same eight-year period- July 1, 1994 through June 30, 2002. In my opinion a direct consequence of these studies is the growth in state law enforcement accreditation programs. These programs are state centric yet are based on not only state best practices but national best practices as well. Hence, I am a strong advocate of state accreditation versus national accreditation.
I’ ve heard from some law enforcement agencies that they are not interested in achieving or maintaining accreditation because they“ can’ t afford it” or it is too time consuming and labor intensive. Well as the studies have shown these agencies might not be factoring into the cost equation the cost-benefit ratio of accreditation and their liability risk exposure. Let me emphasize this point one more time; two risk management studies by state leaguesponsored self-insured pooling organizations indicate that accreditation significantly reduces the risk factors associated with police operations.
The TML Risk Management Pool concluded( and I cite parts of the report),“ As a result of this analysis, that encouraging police agencies to seek standardized practices and policies through accreditation was a cost-effective investment of time and resources. Rate comparisons over the eight-year study period clearly showed that the accredited agencies performed 11.0 % to 60.3 % better than the non-accredited agencies.”
The Colorado Interlocal Risk Sharing Agency( CIRSA) concluded that accredited police departments had 8.3 % fewer Property / Casualty claims per fulltime police officer than the non-accredited police departments during the time period chosen; and that accredited police departments had 7.5 % fewer Workers’ Compensation claims per fulltime police officer than the non-accredited police departments during the time period chosen. Furthermore, accredited police departments per officer incurred costs for property / Casualty claims were 52.2 % lower than the non-accredited police departments.
These two comparative statistical review reports were conducted a few years ago within the context of national accreditation. Anecdotally at least we can say that state accreditation is growing at a faster rate than national accreditation. That is the case in New Jersey where nearly 190 agencies have been either accredited or reaccredited by NJSACOP. As agencies consider the value of accreditation think about these findings: that there is a positive correlation between accreditation and loss reduction, and further provide quantitative evidence that accreditation significantly impacts a law enforcement agency’ s ability to prevent and reduce loss in the area of professional liability.
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