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Case Number 23
This is a conspicuous night for Pennsylvania’s Capital City. This evening the City of Harrisburg receives CALEA's Certificate of Accreditation for its Bureau of Police. It is the highest recognition in the United States for a law enforcement agency. In our nation, there are over 21,000 police and law enforcement organizations and less than 500 today have the status of accreditation. The Harrisburg Bureau of Police first attained this distinction in 1989, and it has been maintained ever since. Tonight signifies the successful completion of the reaccredidation process, a process during which the bureau is tediously reviewed by an independent panel through an on-site visit, examination of records, conducting a public hearing, and other related means. The national status of accreditation means that the Harrisburg Bureau of Police has established and maintained the highest standards associated with training, operations, policy and procedure. It is not a claim to perfection or infallibility. Instead, it is a commitment by a government and its public servants that there shall be a constant commitment to high ideals and that we shall hold ourselves accountable in adhering to the same. The genesis of our pursuit of accreditation is to those difficult days of Harrisburg’s very serious decline. For decades, the exodus of people, businesses and jobs had reduced Harrisburg to a blighted shell of its former self. The United States Government listed Harrisburg as the second most distressed city in America. The city was considered written-off, a perception that becomes self-fulfilling. Harrisburg was devoid of civic spirit, cynical about its future and largely resigned to being ensnarled in the mire of urban deterioration. That was then. This is now. Amidst a backdrop of naysaying and against seemingly impossible odds, Harrisburg launched initiatives that have since borne results. Much more remains to be done. In the current era, over $2.2 billion in new investment has taken place. The number of businesses on the tax rolls has more than tripled. The value of taxable real estate has quadrupled. Unemployment stands below 5%. Concurrent with economic development have been equally important priority pursuits of devising non-tax revenue sources, so that government could have the resources to perform its mission, and the reform and refinement of the government itself -- to assure citizens and businesses that municipal services will be delivered in an honest, measurable and proper manner. The goal of achieving national police accreditation was an essential objective as a part of this reform. Law enforcement is one of the most visible services the city provides. The conduct and effectiveness of police services can literally determine the quality of life and the future of a city and its neighborhoods. It affects the capacity of a city to have confidence in its future. Accreditation provides high standards — standards not subject to the influence of politics or mischief. Accreditation is a national standard for how we, as Americans, best wish to see law enforcement conducted in our free society — of how best to enforce the laws within the parameters set forth in the United States Constitution and within the principles of a democratic nation. Attainment of accreditation means the City of Harrisburg has adopted a new and higher system of values and beliefs about the public service we render to our community. Moreover, accreditation means that once having established these high standards, we have set a benchmark and an expectation that our successors will be expected to follow. There will be no turning back to the old practices of Harrisburg’s earlier days. Accreditation is a statement to our citizens and taxpayers that we take seriously the law enforcement duties to which we have been entrusted. It is a statement about the ideals and commitment of the men and women of the Harrisburg Bureau of Police and of the government of which they are a part. It is a tribute to every member of the Bureau of Police that accreditation has been sustained for more than a decade. Law enforcement work is demanding and hazardous. It can be exhilarating and frustrating. It is a career that requires dedication, integrity, sensitivity, and strength of mind, body, spirit and character. We see these qualities in the members of the Bureau of Police and in the civilian support staff of the Bureau. Law enforcement work is a job that genuinely makes a difference in the lives of others and in the life of the community and nation. The men and women of the Harrisburg Bureau of Police have made a difference in this capital city. It can be seen in the more than 50% reduction in Part I crime. It can be seen in the greater interaction of citizens with police. It can be seen through the effects of community policing, of neighborhood crime watch groups, and it is felt in a thousand ways as officers and support staff carry out their duties every day with a conviction to provide meaningful public service. As a local community, we say thanks to each of our officers and support staff. By the Certificate of Accreditation being received tonight, the nation is also saying thanks. America is saying that you are amongst the finest in the profession in the United States. That is the result of your service to this city and it is the legacy you give to the future.
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