Roseville police department receives re-accreditation

ROSEVILLE — The Roseville Police Department announced its re-accreditation by the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police at an April 9 City Council meeting.

Chief Mitch Berlin and Deputy Chief Robert Gudenau gave a presentation about the accreditation to the council.

“The accreditation process furthers an agency’s professional development and ensures that their methods, policies and procedures in daily operations form the best practices for standards in the law enforcement arena,” Berlin said at the meeting.

Berlin went on to discuss the importance of training. He said the risks of the job are high and can make or break the department’s relationship with the community.

“Training should be continuously monitored. Combining frequent scenario-based, thought-provoking training with an officer’s experience will go a long way to limiting mistakes,” Berlin said.

He said the accreditation helps build trust with the community, which is one of the greatest challenges policing faces today.

“Law enforcement derives its authority from the communities they police,” Berlin said. “Community engagement and satisfaction are vital to allow agencies to do their job. Departments need to be informed on a community and collaborate and respond to a community’s needs.”

The process, according to Berlin, involves 150 standards. He said they cover a broad range of topics that include administration, investigations and arrest procedures. In order to be accredited by MACP, a department needs to meet these standards. The report states there were no noncompliance or performance issues found during the three-year process.

“I am proud of each and every one of these fine officers,” Berlin said about the department’s re-accreditation.

The MACP concluded its report with some recommendations for the department, including expanding evidence storage, limiting access to the property room to those “with a functional responsibility” and removing riot batons from reach of those entering/exiting the cell area.

The department employs 62 male officers and six female officers. Sixty-five of those officers are white, two are African American and one is Hispanic, according to the re-accreditation report’s demographics section.

“After interviews, it was determined that the agency complied with the established accreditation program standards, with the exceptions and associated waivers noted,” the report states.

“Kudos to Chief Berlin and Deputy Chief Gudenau — it’s a monumental undertaking,” Roseville City Manager Ryan Monroe said following the presentation. “I don’t think there’s enough congratulations that could be given to them.”