FDL Police Continue Working Toward Accreditation

The Fond du Lac Police Department continues to work towards accreditation through the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group. The department is in year three of the process, and Captain Aaron Goldstein says it’s a massive undertaking that has the department reviewing their policies, procedures and rules. “We are making sure that we have the best practices and standards in place to protect the city, to protect the police department, and to also provide the best quality services we can for our citizens,” Goldstein said.

Part of the process includes reviewing the department’s mission statement – and Goldstein says they looked internally and externally to craft that new statement. “Officers normally don’t take the time to talk about how great they did on a call, or the great services they provided somebody, and we asked the people that were working in our work group  – what does it look like when you’re doing your best? – tell us those stories so we know what’s driving us to do what we do,” Goldstein said. He adds that the department also reached out to the community and held listening sessions with different groups, like the City Council, Envision Greater Fond du Lac, and others, to get feedback to the question – “what does it look like when we’re doing our best?” Goldstein says after reviewing the data, they began crafting that new mission statement as of a few weeks ago. The new statement is expected to be revealed in the near future.

As for the accreditation process – the department will go through a “mock assessment” this summer, where assessors will come in and make sure the department is on the right track toward final approval. The final assessment of the process takes place in November of this year.