Law enforcement is a vocation, and will never be considered a profession until we raise the level of standards and meet specific criteria. The standards to which we should aspire - such as agency accreditation, attaining a college degree, and improved training - are all available to us if we make the effort. Being accredited may save your job. Not being accredited may cost you your job, or not provide you with the administrative tools to address a number of problems.

Consider having the ability to deal effectively with disgruntled, lazy, or unproductive employees. Conversely, consider not giving them the legal direction on how to conduct themselves. Accreditation monitors your entire operation from facility security to high- liability policies. How many of us are lawfully handling evidence and the chain of custody, the separation of drugs, firearms, and jewelry or other valuables? Biohazardous evidence should be separated from everything else, and found property also is stored separately. Who reviews their entire procedures manual every year to evaluate the need for changes? My bet is only those agencies that are accredited. The accreditation process gives the agency good accountability from the top down, and from the bottom up. We all need to get accredited. Satellite Beach has been accredited since June of 2000, and we have thanked the good Lord on several occasions.

Please don't forget to check your forfeiture fund and support professionalism through accreditation. We need to support the accreditation process and all donations to the accreditation effort are appreciated.