RICHLANDS, Va. -Around two and a half years after the former Richlands Police Chief was forced to leave his position, the town’s police department now has state accreditation for the first time in its history. Their current chief, Ron Holt, says this was his goal from the beginning of his time with the department.
“I came from an accredited agency with the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office; I saw what accreditation brought to bear for our agency there… it assures, it compels professionalism in an agency, and I wanted that for the department that I was going to lead,” says Chief Holt.
To achieve this goal, the department had to meet more than two hundred standards set by the ‘Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission.’ Captain Adam Crouse with the RPD says getting accredited was completely voluntary and shows that they are willing to go above and beyond.
“It’s been a long process, about twenty months… everyone here has come together and worked so very hard on it, and we have a great team here and we just hope to continue to bring great things to Richlands,” says Captain Crouse.
Not only did the department pass, it passed with flying colors, achieving ‘no returns’ or a one hundred percent score, something the Commission says is not a common sight to see.
Chief Holt says accreditation means more than just a badge of honor or a sticker on their cars; it’s a message of excellence to the community.
“…It means that we’re doing the job in the best way that we know how to do it in terms of… law enforcement professionals. I mean, we are adhering to only the best standards and practices of law enforcement. What that translates into for our community is, you know, a good service, top notch service for our community. They can rest assured that, you know, we’re doing our job the way that… we need to be doing it,” says Chief Holt.
Chief Holt credits the people of the department and their accreditation manager for making this vision a reality. He says if you see their officers out in the community, tell them ‘congratulations’ for their hard work to reach this milestone.
Chief Holt says they won’t be satisfied with just state accreditation. They hope to achieve national accreditation and become a “Certified Crime Prevention Community,” something only achieved by twelve agencies in the Commonwealth. If they achieve their goal, Holt says it could mean “big things” for Richlands, possibly even breaks in insurance premiums.
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