Next year, officers from four Pennsylvania police departments will be entering virtual reality to help deal with possible, real-life scenarios where they have to de-escalate a situation to make sure everyone is safe.
Being accredited means the department follows all the practices and procedures set forth by the association. Assessors from the association come out and make sure that the department is operating by the association s standards.
They evaluate the department s policies by looking at reports, records and training, and tour the department s facilities. The assessors also met with officers and evaluate equipment.
They rode along with the officers to make sure the policies were being followed.
The chief said getting accredited was one of his goals when he joined the department in the beginning of 2020. His previous department, Slate Belt Regional Police, had gotten accredited prior to Mettin joining Plumstead, so he was familiar with the process.