The Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission (PLEAC) was established in July 2001 by the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association. In 2010, the Upper Allen Township Police Department became the 68th police department – out of more than 1,200 police agencies in Pennsylvania – to be recognized by PLEAC as an accredited agency.
The concept and practice of accreditation is not new. For many years, hospitals, universities and other professional fields have undergone accreditation to prove compliance with a set of professional standards. The concept of accreditation is a progressive and time-proven way of helping organizations evaluate and improve their overall performance. The cornerstone of this strategy lies in the promulgation of standards containing a clear statement of professional law enforcement objectives. The PLEAC program is currently comprised of 139 standards and 242 sub standards, with each accreditation cycle in the program lasting three years.
On March 22, 2022 the Upper Allen Police Department completed its fourth accreditation assessment by certified assessors from PLEAC. The unanimous recommendation of the assessment team was for the Upper Allen Police Department to maintain full accreditation status. PLEAC later met and voted to grant full accreditation status for an additional three (3) years to the Upper Allen Township Police Department.
The PLEAC recognition as an Accredited Agency is a coveted award which symbolizes professionalism, excellence and competence in the law enforcement profession. The Upper Allen Township community can take pride in knowing their police department represents the very best in Pennsylvania law enforcement.
Some benefits of accreditation for our agency:
- Established a credible framework for evaluating agency practices and procedures.
- Reduces agency risk and exposure to lawsuits.
- Decreases some liability insurance expenditures.
- Improves law enforcement-community relations.
- Increases employee input, interaction and confidence in the agency.
- Enlarges the outlook and viewpoints of managers, officers and employees.
- Identifies and highlights the capabilities and competence of the agency.
- Furnishes a solid foundation for the agency to build upon for further progress.
- Provides reliable methods to improve essential management procedures.
- Extends agency accountability to the public and elected officials.
- Enhances planning and innovation activities by all agency personnel.
- Develops improved methods for providing services to the community.
- Encourages problem-solving activities within the agency.
