Monroe police earn reaccreditation, mark 25 years of accreditation

Monroe police kept a state stamp of approval that is supposed to mean more than a plaque: 25 straight years of accredited status built on 112 standards in administration, training and operations. For a village department in Orange County, the reaccreditation is less about ceremony than about showing that its policies, training and internal controls still meet New York’s benchmark for professional policing.

The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services runs the Law Enforcement Agency Accreditation Program as a voluntary system meant to improve an agency’s effectiveness, efficiency and professionalism, promote training and foster public confidence. DCJS says accredited agencies must meet standards in three categories, and the state’s Law Enforcement Agency Accreditation Council, a 19-member panel with exclusive authority to grant accreditation, meets quarterly to adopt standards and set policy.

Monroe’s latest recognition was awarded June 4 at a DCJS Accreditation Council meeting in Albany. Police Chief Darwin Guzman and Lt. Timothy Young attended the ceremony, where Young, the department’s accreditation program manager, received the John Kimball O’Neil Certificate of Achievement for his work on the process. DCJS awards that certificate to managers of newly accredited or reaccredited agencies, underscoring how much of accreditation depends on steady paperwork, documentation and follow-through inside the department.

State standards are not just a one-time test. The accreditation manual says the program was established as a voluntary mechanism to help law enforcement agencies evaluate and improve the overall effectiveness of the agency and the performance of its staff. That matters in Monroe, where residents rely on the department for everyday service and where accreditation is meant to signal that training and operations are being checked against a formal state standard rather than left to habit.

Guzman said the recognition reflected the department’s commitment to the highest standards of service and praised Young’s leadership. He also thanked Mayor Alex Melchiorre and the village board for their continued support, saying local backing remains essential to keeping the department accredited and serving the community well. Monroe’s police page is listed under the Town of Monroe’s emergency services section, placing the department alongside other local police, fire and EMS providers that residents depend on every day.