St. Augustine Beach Police Department accredited

St. Augustine Beach residents will now be served by an accredited police department.

Members of the St. Augustine Beach Police Department and City Commission went to Daytona Beach to appear before the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation on Wednesday to officially be recognized as an accredited agency.

"When we reviewed the St. Augustine Police Department, there were no areas of concern," said Chief Michelle Morris, commissioner for the Commission for Florida Accreditation. "It's apparent that the Chief (Robert Hardwick) is truly dedicated to the area he both lives and works in."

The commission is made up of 13 law enforcement leaders from across Florida, all of whom voted to make the SABPD an accredited agency.

Morris, who is the chief of the Sebastian Police Department, also mentioned the SABPD's involvement with the special needs children in the county, saying it stood out among the community service projects the department pursues. She asked Hardwick to explain the program to the rest of the commission.

"We realized that the children with special needs in St. Johns County were not getting the same kind of department tours the other students were getting," Hardwick said. "We started the program about two years ago, and the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, the St. Augustine Police Department, the St. Johns County Fire and Rescue and Florida National Guard come to our department, and the kids can touch whatever they want. It's a special time for us."

Hardwick also took the time to thank the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office's accreditation team for its help during the accreditation process.

"We surround ourselves with people who make us successful, and we have a great working relationship with both the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office and the St. Augustine Police Department," Hardwick said.

For Hardwick, having an accredited agency available to the residents is important because it holds officers accountable. He also said 35 percent of law enforcement agencies in Florida are accredited.

"We're now expected to operate at a higher standard that is shared among the best agencies of the state," he said. "So the officers themselves are held to a higher standard."

Hardwick also said since the policy and procedures to maintain the accreditation status changes, the department has to be adaptable to make the changes on a deadline.

"We'll be reviewing our policies constantly," he said.

For SABPD officers, the accreditation is a sign of moving forward with a new leader.

"The department was not in a good condition when the chief came in," Officer Todd Smith said. "He had a tough job but was able to turn it around. This accreditation reflects a new sense of professionalism, and it will never go back to what it was before."

Sgt. Gary Hartshorne, who has been with the department for 20 years, agreed.

"It highlights a change in leadership," he said. "What the previous chief couldn't do in nine years, Chief Hardwick did in two."

Commander Jim Parker said evidentiary, leadership and record-keeping issues were among some of the challenges Hardwick faced when he came to the department.

"They that were stopped and then built from the ground up," Parker said.

As an example, Parker said he and Hardwick were able to bring the logistics and evidentiary practices to state and national standards. Once specific agency issues were handled, Parker said accreditation was the next step.

"What better way to change an agency when you can bring it up to the standards you know it can reach," Parker said.

Executive Assistant Kathi Harrell said she is proud to work for an agency that hold themselves to a higher standard.

"It's great to be working with a team that has gone the extra level to want to be a better agency," she said.

Harrell also acknowledged Hardwick's leadership.

"Chief Hardwick came in here with a plan, and here we are now," she said.

Now that the department is accredited, it has to go through the reaccreditation process every three years, Hardwick said.

He said he is already in the beginning stages for 2018.

He said hopes the department will eventually attain recognition at the Excelsior level, which is given to agencies who pass five reaccreditations with a perfect score.

He said he also wants to get more involved with the community through events like the special needs program, getting involved with the Boys & Girls Club, building a skate park and much more.

"This is huge for our agency, but I'm not stopping," he said. "We enjoy a higher standard; that's who we are."