The Skokie Police Department was recently awarded reaccreditation status by the Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Program (ILEAP). The voluntary accreditation process evaluates mission-critical policies and procedures against professionally-established criteria. When first awarded ILEAP accreditation in January 2012, Skokie became only the sixth Illinois law enforcement agency to earn this prestigious status.
“This significant professional reaccreditation validates what the Skokie community has known for years: that the Skokie Police Department is the finest law enforcement agency in the United States,” said Mayor George Van Dusen. “My colleagues on the Village Board join me in extending congratulations to Police Chief Anthony Scarpelli, Deputy Chief Brian Baker, Deputy Chief Michael Pechter and the men and women of the Skokie Police Department who dedicate their lives to the safety of our community.”
The ILEAP accreditation process includes offsite evaluation of accreditation files, which, according to assessment team leader Holly Nearing, Deputy Police Chief (retired), Champaign, Illinois, were, “…by far the most comprehensive this assessor has seen.” On October 20 and 21, 2015, Nearing and Louis Jogmen, Deputy Police Chief, Park Ridge, Illinois, conducted an onsite assessment that included interviews with sworn and civilian Police Department staff at all levels of the organization, attending a roll-call at the beginning of a shift and participating in four ride-alongs with randomly selected police officers. The process also included a one-hour public call-in session on October 21 that was advertised in the local media.
The ILEAP Council unanimously recognized the Skokie Police Department for full accreditation through 2020, stating in a letter that, “The accreditation is evidence and recognition of the highest level of professional police provision to the community by the leadership and personnel of the Skokie Police Department.” The letter further commented that the reaccreditation reflected the commitment of the Village’s leadership to support policing services to increase quality of life in the community.
“I am proud of the Skokie Police Department personnel, both sworn and civilian, for conducting themselves with the utmost integrity and professionalism and for their collective dedication to best practices in law enforcement,” said Police Chief Anthony Scarpelli. “This reaccreditation reflects these values, and is evidence of the culture of excellence we all strive to maintain. I am privileged to lead this fine group of dedicated professionals.”