RCPD works for fair, impartial policing and national accreditation

RILEY COUNTY (KSNT) - The Riley County Police is seeking national accreditation for its on-sight communication center, and working towards justice with Manhattan-Riley County Coalition for Equal Justice (CEJ) and the Fair and Impartial Policing (FIP) Working Group.

Not immune to the social justice awareness campaign the swept the country after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, RCPD began looking at their police practices and sought national accreditation to "promote community trust."

Informed by Dr. Lorie Fridell, a national leader in the field of human bias and the measurement and reporting of policing activities, the RCPD is working to maintain "a collaborative and mutually respectful relationship between RCPD and the Manhattan-Riley County Coalition for Equal Justice CEJ in an effort to implement positive changes within RCPD."

Pratically, that means RCPD is examing how they recruit candidates to include underrepresented populations, how to help candidates succeed with physical testing, and reaching out to K-State athletes and sociology and criminology classes.

Riley County Police Captain Josh Kyle joined KSNT Tuesday morning to discuss the changes being made and the step towards national accreditation.

Captain Kyle said the RCPD has begun the process of Accreditation of the RCPD Communications Center through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). In 2021, the Communication Center got over 54,000 calls for service, and according to RCPD, 78% of those were police-related matters.

Accreditation requires the department to do a self-examination, looking into department policies, and meet national standards that can be cerified. According to RCPD Public Information Officer Aaron Wintermote, the department has maintained Accreditation during on-site assessments in 1996, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2016, and again in 2020 by meeting 481 national Accreditation standards.

RCPD, which consolidated in 1974, is the first and only consolidated agency in the state of Kansas, after combining the Manhattan Police Department, Ogden Police Department, and the Riley County Sheriff's Office.