Accreditation and Staff Inspections

Accreditation: "the bestowing of credentials symbolizing approval from a professional organization upon practitioners or specific institutions. It is a progressive and time-proven way of helping organizations evaluate and improve their overall performance."

Accreditation is a voluntary process through which the Port St. Lucie Police Department has achieved national and state recognition for meeting and maintaining professionally-recognized criteria for excellence in management and service delivery. The Port St. Lucie Police Department became the 193rd law enforcement agency in the United States and the first in St. Lucie County to become nationally accredited. The department successfully achieved state and national re-accreditation in 2007.

Accreditation provides some of the following benefits to the department: 

• Assures governmental leaders of the quality of services delivered by their law enforcement agency;
• Provides a thorough review of the agency's status and readiness;
• Reinforces the agency's ability to maintain the highest standards of law enforcement services that represent current professional practices;
• Assures that agency personnel are trained and functioning according to established policies and procedures; and
• Provides a quality work environment for well-trained professionals that aids in recruiting and retaining qualified personnel.

The Accreditation Manager is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the Port St. Lucie Police Department remains in compliance with all the applicable accreditation standards designated by the state and national accrediting agencies. Standards compliance is maintained through a variety of methods, which include continual review, and updating of departmental Written Directives to include the General Guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures.

The Accreditation Manager also conducts Staff Inspections of all components of the Port St. Lucie Police Department. These inspections ensure written directive compliance; identify concerns, special needs, and safety issues; as well as providing the Chief of Police a tool for decision making and a method to keep abreast of activity within each division and section of the agency.

Sergeant V. Montagud currently holds the Accreditation Manager position. He can be reached by calling 772-344-4392.