Denton Police Department reaches ‘gold standard’ for policing practices

The Denton Police Department has joined a small portion of Texas law enforcement agencies that meet the criteria for “best policing practices” — which encompass everything from use of deadly force to how to inventory evidence — in order to reduce risk factors.

The Texas Police Chiefs Association has a voluntary program designed to assist agencies in “efficient and effective delivery of service, the reduction of risk and the protection of individual’s rights,” according to its website.

There are now 173 best practices that an agency must comply with to be accredited — a number that has increased since the Denton Police Department started the path to accreditation in 2019.

Since the program’s start in 2006, about 180 agencies have reached accreditation status, according to the association. The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement’s website states there are currently 2,730 active agencies in the state.

“We are very proud to say that … we are one of the few that are meeting the gold standard for Texas law enforcement identified by police chiefs and veteran commanders across the state,” Richard Williams, the accreditation and compliance specialist, said. “We’re proud to say we are representing our citizens and representing our city well.”

Williams called the department’s goal to reach accreditation status “a monumental task.”

“It was our first time pursuing accreditation, and it involves just about every member of this department,” he said. “Every member is required to do their job in a way that they probably had not done it before. It requires everybody to put forward their 100% effort to get this done.”

The program details virtually every aspect of policing. The Texas Police Chiefs Association website lists examples of best practices. One best practice requires written directives of all policies, procedures and practices and dictates exactly how an agency must number and organize all directives, how often they should be reviewed and by whom.

Another example of a best practice requires a law enforcement agency to clearly establish and document every aspect of a vehicle pursuit, such as the criteria for initiation of a pursuit, the method of pursuit, supervision of a pursuit and criteria for terminating a vehicle pursuit.

These extensive requirements are meant to ensure officers are prepared for any situation they might come across, Williams said.

“There’s a lot of risk in law enforcement,” Williams said. “It’s an attempt to minimize risk, increase officer safety and ensure that they get the best training. It assures we’ve looked at these critical areas and developed policies and procedures to address them. And that if there is a problem, we have systems in place to identify, address and correct those problems.”

In order to be accredited, agencies have to submit documentation online of all their practices and procedures, such as proof of training or lesson plans. Then, assessors from the association come in person to observe the records.

But just because the Denton Police Department has reached accreditation status doesn’t mean the work stops there. While it will retain accreditation for a four-year period, the department will have to provide proof of compliance yearly and reapply for accreditation every four years.

“You have to show that this has become a way of life for your organization,” Williams said. “This has to become a part of your organizational DNA.”

While the newly chosen Chief Doug Shoemaker‘s arrival in October will likely bring about change, Williams said he feels certain the department will continue to strive for accreditation status.

“Once you reach this level, you are acknowledged and you’re awarded accreditation status, I really don’t know any chief that would want to give that up,” he said. “I think they want to achieve that level of excellence that it took to achieve accreditation.”