Clewiston Seeks Police Accreditation

City Seeks Accreditation For Police Department
CLEWISTON, FL. -- Clewiston City Manager Steve McKown said at a budget meeting he hopes for state accreditation of the Clewiston Police Department as "another tool to boost the morale of our police officers and lend us a lot more credibility throughout the state and locally, particularly in high liability areas."  T

McKown said the four areas needed for State accreditation are: Evidence; Policy & Procedure; Holding Cell/Security; and Communications. No part of the current building is physically secure enough to meet the standards for accreditation, he said. 

He said as the city prepares for a future new home for the Police Department, "we still feel compelled to work on the policies and procedures that will lead to accreditation. Therefore, this goal cannot be obtained in its entirety until we have a new building, but the work starts this year. We really need to become accredited."

Police Chief Don Gutshall reports this week:

Friday night, the 2012 Public Safety Class held an awards/graduation dinner at the First United Methodist Church. Th3 Criminal Justice group swept the State-wide awards this year. The new communications group is scheduled to begin this fall. Graduating seniors from these disciplines may graduate with either a Dispatcher or Security Officer’s certificate. School Districts from all over Florida come to Clewiston to get pointers on what is now the State model program.

Clewiston PD officers took part in the Memorial Day ceremony at Ridge Lawn Cemetery on Monday. A local Boy Scout Troop, our own Explorer Post, and the Criminal Justice Class also shared duties at the memorial.

The week’s activities:

1117 Commercial / Residential Security Checks
522 Complaints Investigated
44 Red Light Camera Violations
165 Traffic Citations Issued
143 Traffic Written Warnings
7 Criminal Arrests
83 Merchant Escorts
22 Alarms Responded To
3 Traffic Accidents Investigated