Red Bank Police Get State Accreditation
One officer was indicted for assault on a motorist and another was accused of being drunk on the job.
Both have resigned.
But 2015 is starting off on a better note for Red Bank police.
It’s an understatement to say that a law enforcement officer has a dangerous and sometimes thankless job.
And sometimes every cop gets criticized for the actions of a few.
But that doesn’t stop police agencies from pushing ahead to improve training and overall effectiveness.
The tiny Red Bank police department reached a milestone this week—full accreditation.
CHIEF TIM CHRISTOL, RED BANK POLICE "This gives the department more credibility in that over 160 policies and standards are evaluated by professionals from across the state..to assess our best practices standards."
There are 24 patrol officers on the Red Bank roster. They work 12 hour shifts.
There are also 4 special investigators plus an office staff.
Chief Christol is delighted that the Tennessee Association of Police Chiefs has given Red Bank its blessing as one of 32 elite departments in Tennessee.
CHIEF CHRISTOL "We had to sit back and look at things like where we were wanting to go as an agency…where the community, interacting with the community to find out what their expectations were of us."
Red Bank has the distinction of being the smallest department in the state to win that accreditation.
CHIEF CHRISTOL "This is a job. Everyone needs a paycheck…but more importantly, the people that work here really do care about the community."
And, the chief says improvements in service have also been met with more response from the community.
CHIEF CHRISTOL "One of the comments we get consistently is people are more willing to call the police now…because they believe we’re going to be there and do something."
Three years ago the Red Bank city commission approved spending some 2-thousand dollars for the police department to apply for state accreditation.
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