Milton Police earn recertification.

At the Oct. 7 City Council meeting, Milton’s Police Department received state recertification from the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police.

Pictured is, from left, Dunwoody Police Chief Billy Grogan, City of Milton Police Accreditation Manager Katherine Fies and Milton Police Chief Deborah Harrell. Grogan was on hand to give Milton the award.

State certification is neither easy nor simple. It requires compliance with a set of policies covering eight distinct areas of law enforcement: the agency’s role; organization and management; personnel; legal; operations; support services; communications; and holding areas.

Only 15 percent of eligible state agencies accomplish certification. Milton initially earned the honor in 2010.
Milton earned recertification by meeting a set of 129 law enforcement standards reviewed by a team of assessors from across the state.

Recertification also means continued savings for taxpayers in the form of state-mandated insurance payments. In 2006 GACP partnered with the Georgia Interlocal Risk Management Agency (GIRMA) to provide special rate-reduction incentives to State Certified municipalities that have achieved and maintained their status. These rate reductions can decrease liability premiums by up to 20 percent.