December 20, 2017
Working towards better policing
Around Town American Legion hosts Christmas party for children of veterans. P.7
Community Voices By Brenda Mahr. P.2
Laern & Play
See what Cindy Moore has to say about her ‘sweet tooth’. P.10 Photo by Ray Rockwell Members of the St. Louis Area Police Chiefs Association are working with St. Louis Area City/County Managers Association (SLACMA) and the Municipal League of Metro St. Louis, to implement a new law enforcement agreement to bring regional consistency to police departments.
Food
St. Louis Area City/County Managers Association and Municipal League of Metro St. Louis vote to bring regional consistency to police departments By Charlotte Beard Community leaders and the law enforcement community in the St. Louis area are working together to improve policing across the region At the Berkeley City Hall on Nov. 30, a monthly meeting with the St. Louis Area City/County Managers Association (SLACMA) was held where members of the Municipal League of Metro St. Louis, voted unanimously to approve a new law enforcement agreement to bring regional consistency to police departments. The agreement will ensure best practices for St. Louis County. There were approximately 100 meeting attendees. Executive Director for the league, Pat Kelly, shared, “It speaks volumes that the membership approved [this agreement] unanimously. This is something that from the small cities to the big cities, the statement they want to make to the public is ‘we’re trying to re-achieve the standard.’” Both Kelly and Chief Kevin Murphy, president of the St. Louis Area Police Chiefs Association (SLAPCA), shared the details of the process that brought them to the new requirement for police departments to begin certification before Jan. 1, 2019, with the goal of completion by Jan. 1, 2022. Talks began in late 2016 about developing a set of standards. In January 2017 a subcommittee of the league members was formed consisting of police chiefs, Marty Corcoran – City Manager for Maplewood
representing SLACMA and Kelly who represented the league’s administration. Murphy, who is chief in Clayton, operated as chair of the subcommittee. Also, named as part of this smaller group were agencies from North County: Bridgeton, North County Co-op, St. John’s and St. Louis County PD representatives. “We broke into a subcommittee,” stated Murphy, “and had a series of meetings in January, July and August where we drafted up the agreement and then we brought the larger group back [into the discussion] in August to question how it was drafted, and provide feedback before we took it to a membership vote. The membership vote for St. Louis area police was held in October. The agreement was ratified by our membership in October. We then took it to the St. Louis Area City Managers Association and they ratified it at their November meeting.” The adopted language for the agreement was prepared by SLAPCA and was laid out as follows: “Best practices required under this agreement include having written policies on: appropriate use of force; handling crises intervention team; bias-free policing; vehicle operation, accidents, and pursuits; investigation of officer-involved shooting incidents; in-custody deaths; and citizen complaint process and internal affairs. All officers must be Peace Officers Standards and Training certified and
licensed, and detailed background checks will be conducted.” Kelly stressed that accreditation is a three-year process and added, “Each municipality has to develop their policies and procedures using the guidelines of the accrediting organization.” Murphy clarified that the Missouri Police Chiefs Association does the certification and the accreditation happens with CALEA [Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies]. CALEA is considered the “gold standard” for public safety, and has some very specific program standards. The International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) is another source for certification. No agency can have assessors directly affiliated with the police agency seeking certification. Achieving certification is not the end of the agreement; Kelly shared that the police department is audited every three years thereafter. Kelly also shared that only five percent the police departments across the United States are certified; 25 percent of St. Louis County alone falls into that national percentile. “In a few years, St. Louis and St. Charles County could possibly be the only two counties in the country that have close to 100 percent accredited police departments,” he said. See ‘POLICING’ page 2
Serving North & Northwest St. Louis County | FREE Online at mycnews.com | Vol. 96 No. 51 | 636-379-1775
Entertain with ease during the holidays. P.9
Movie
Oscar Watch: Denzel Washington is on the case in ‘Roman J. Israel, Esq.’ P.16
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