The Scottsdale Police Department has been awarded full accreditation, without conditions, through the Arizona Law Enforcement Accreditation Program, officials announced in November.

This process was conducted by the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police Board of Directors, which is the accrediting agency in the State of Arizona.

Scottsdale PD is the first municipal police department in Arizona to achieve this dual accreditation, according to a press release. Scottsdale PD was first accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies in 1994 and now complies with 508 standards between the two programs.

To achieve the ALEAP accreditation, Scottsdale PD participated in an evaluation of its policies, procedures and practices related to law enforcement standards of best practices.

The process included an on-site assessment, an ALEAP Commission review of the final report and a final hearing with Chief Jeff Walther, Assistant Chief Rich Slavin, Accreditation Manager Cassie Johnson and City Manager Jim Thompson.

Lt. Brian Zach from the Kingman Police Department was one of the on-site evaluators. He expressed his compliments of Scottsdale PD in a note to City Manager Thompson.

“I was truly impressed with how the department as a whole, functions and operates. The terms that come to my mind when assessing the police department were ‘innovative’, ‘on the cutting edge of law enforcement’ and ‘trend setters.’ My hats off to Chief of Police Jeff Walther and his dedicated and professional staff, your city is in great hands sir,” Lt. Zach reported.

Accreditation is valid for a four-year period, during which time the agency must submit annual reports attesting to its continued compliance with those standards under which it was initially accredited.

For more information regarding the Arizona Law Enforcement Accreditation Program, visit www.azleap.org.