MOLINE, Ill. — The Moline Police Department is awaiting approval for its first-ever state accreditation.
Accreditation is a criterion that isn't mandatory but encourages police departments to strive for better practices.
Passing the Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Program isn't an easy process. The Moline PD had to pass 69 different standards.
"The department has been preparing for its state review since 2019," Moline Police Chief Darren Gault said. Gault also said that the department revamped its policies and invested in new software systems to maintain them as well.
During the process, state law enforcement officers evaluated the policies and procedures. The review consisted of department tours, vehicle inspections, interviews, ride-a-longs and an exit interview.
Having met the state's criteria, the Moline PD now moves forward for final approval by the Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Council.
"Over the last couple of years, Illinois has had additional laws and standards that law enforcement is having to adapt to," Gault said. "So we also made sure that the accreditation process reviewed all of those to make sure that we were meeting those new mandates, as well as any of the best practices in the state of Illinois."
Just last week, the department asked the community for public comment and Gault said that they received a good number of responses to give to the reviewer and that the department was officially recommended for accreditation.
The final approval for accreditation will not be given until later this spring during a meeting of the Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Council.
If the department wants to reach tier two, it'll have to satisfy a list of 181 standards.
The Rock Island Police Department gained its accreditation in 2014, having most recently been re-accredited in the fall of 2022. The Davenport Police Department gained its seventh accreditation in the fall of 2022.
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