The Saratoga Springs Police Department has completed its years-long journey to gain New York state accreditation.
A longtime goal, the Saratoga Springs Police Department announced it had finally attained the distinction on December 7th.
The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services Law Enforcement Accreditation Program consists of 111 standards. The state says the program is “designed to improve an agency's effectiveness, efficiency and professionalism; promote training and foster public confidence in law enforcement.”
Jim Montagnino is the city’s outgoing Commissioner of Public Safety.
“It requires the department to meet and maintain standards in the recruitment of new officers, in the training of new officers, in the way they’re equipped in the standards that are applied with regard to the preservation of evidence, to the reporting of incidents. It’s really a universal kind of oversight,” said Montagnino.
Montagnino says the city has continued a path set by prior city officials. The city’s state-mandated police reform plan contained a set of fifty recommendations.
“Two of the fifty points involved the accreditation of the department. So, one of the first priorities that we had taking office almost two years ago was to see if we could get the department accredited. It’s not an easy task, the state has very high standards,” said Montagnino.
Saratoga Springs Chief of Police Tyler McIntosh has held the position for six months, after the retirement of former chief Shane Crooks.
Montagnino commends McIntosh for prioritizing accreditation.
“The new chief, Tyler McIntosh, took the bull by the horns and got a team of people in the command staff and elsewhere together to really get the job done,” said Montagnino.
McIntosh said achieving accreditation would not have been possible without the help of many individuals within his department and the momentum of past leadership.
“Accreditation, it really drives home the point that our organization, the Saratoga Springs Police Department, is, in fact, an exceptional organization that embodies professionalism and operates in accordance with best practices. It’s a huge milestone for our organization and we really hope that this serves to enhance the public’s trust and confidence in us and our ability to, you know, serve them with a superior service at the end of the day,” explained McIntosh.
McIntosh said the achievement comes at a point when community-police relations seem to be recovering from years of discord.
“It’s certainly been a challenging last several years for law enforcement, that’s for sure. But, you know, I think we’ve committed to our core values – honor, integrity, respect – and we’ve been committed to serving the public regardless of the circumstances. And I think that resilience and dedication to service is really the thing that keeps us—that founds our service and the perception in the community,” said McIntosh.
The New York State Attorney General is investigating the City of Saratoga Springs for its interactions with Black protesters and potential misuses of police authority.
In October, a jury cleared the city and police department of any wrongdoing in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Darryl Mount Jr., who died in 2014 of injuries sustained during an early-morning police foot chase nine months earlier.
