It’s taken 15 years for the Warren Police Department to reach premier accreditation status through the Chiefs of Police Association Accreditation Program.

It’s time well spent.

As retired police John Adams, coordinator of the Chiefs of Police Association Accreditation Program, noted during a recent Warren City Council meeting, the Warren Police Department reviewed the best practices for compliance, compared them to existing department policy and tweaked the city’s policies to comply with the accreditation standard. Once the standards are written in a way that comply with the Chiefs of Police Association Accreditation Program, the association makes sure there is proof that officers are actually following the policies. All told, that process encompasses 139 standards and 370 separate best practices, with five consecutive reviews, held every three years, to make sure the department remains in compliance.

How does that affect Warren residents? It’s simple.

Following the policies and procedures laid out in the accreditation process helps provide better policing for city residents. The standards and policies include updates made by state lawmakers after the death of George Floyd and federal changes made during the first Trump administration. Those policies are designed to make sure interactions with police are as professional and fair as possible for all involved.

The process the Warren Police Department has gone through since it initially began the accreditation process in 2007, culminating in last week’s presentation of premier accreditation, isn’t designed to have policies written to sit in bound volumes on a shelf in the department headquarters. Quite the contrary, the process is designed to show that the policies and procedures are in use every day when police officers are dealing with the public they are paid to protect and serve.

In our opinion, it’s worth the time and effort — not just when the accreditation team is in town — to provide the best policing we can with the money we have to spend.