Congratulations to the Meridian Police Department!

Earlier last winter during my State of the City Address, I shared that Meridian continues to be one of the safest cities in Idaho. We’ve seen system improvements in almost every aspect of our law enforcement program and police response times have improved in every category. Better staffing coverage and crime tracking certainly contributed, as has the ongoing work of our Impact Team. These efforts have resulted in significant decreases in crimes against society, drug offenses, and crimes of opportunity. In a nutshell, the hard work of our men and women at the Meridian Police Department (MPD) is paying off for each and every one of us in the community.

Recently, the MPD achieved a milestone as they received accreditation from the Idaho Chiefs of Police Association (ICOPA). Meridian Police Chief Jeff Lavey accepted the accreditation plaque during a brief ceremony held during last week’s Meridian City Council meeting. The plaque was presented on behalf of the ICOPA by retired Blackfoot Police Chief David Moore, a long-time accreditation evaluator who called the MPD one of the “best run ships” he’s seen in his many years of law enforcement and serving as an evaluator.

Becoming an accredited police department - long considered an essential component of establishing professional excellence in other professional fields - is a relatively new concept for law enforcement agencies. Set to the same professional tone as accreditation programs required for universities and hospitals, the law enforcement accreditation program through ICOPA is recognized as a means of maintaining the highest standards of professionalism.

Attaining accredited status demonstrates to the community that the MPD is fully committed to maintaining the highest standards of professional law enforcement service. This has been an intensive three-year process during which the policies, procedures, practices, and facilities of the MPD were carefully scrutinized, measured, and evaluated by experts in the field. Areas evaluated included administration, internal affairs, operations, training, investigations, patrol, personnel, traffic, use of force, and other areas of policing.

Congratulations to all the men and women of the MPD on this accomplishment, but a special credit to Chief Lavey whose leadership and professionalism sets the expectations of our entire department. Join me in thanking them for their service and celebrating this accomplishment.