Oregon City Police Department

Announces State Accreditation

On April 20, 2004 Oregon City Police Department became the first law enforcement agency in Clackamas County and the 10th in the State of Oregon to become accredited.

Accreditation is awarded by the Oregon Accreditation Alliance and is based on a law enforcement agency achieving and maintaining 148 legal, ethical, and operational standards. These standards give the department a proven management system of written objectives, sound training, and clearly defined lines of authority. Ultimately, the existence of through standards gives the public, police, and elected policy makers a norm against which to evaluate Oregon City Police Department's performance.

Additionally, accreditation enhances community understanding of law enforcement and its role in the community as well as its goals and directives. This increases the community's confidence in the policies and practices of the law enforcement agency.

According to Chief Lane Roberts, President of the Oregon Association of Chiefs of Police, “The Oregon City Police Department's decision to pursue and achieve law enforcement accreditation via the Oregon Accreditation Alliance establishes them as leaders in the profession in Oregon. Accreditation is not about certificates to hang on the wall. It is the hallmark of a true profession. The Oregon City Police Department had the administrative sense of responsibility to thoroughly review their organization and compare their performance against recognized industry benchmarks. More than that, they had the courage to invited trained assessors from outside their agency to verify and validate their compliance with those benchmarks. They have offered proof of their professional operation and the citizens of Oregon City have every reason to be proud of their organization.”

Even though accreditation has been awarded, the police department cannot become complacent and let its quality of service and accountability to the community decline. To remain accredited, the department must be reassessed every three years to ensure continued compliance with all standards. Re-accreditation is not automatic, which means the department must prove their adherence to, and build on the effectiveness and efficiency of their operation and management.