Canonsburg Police Department earns accreditation

Jan 28, 2025 By Karen Mansfield 3 min read

Courtesy of Canonsburg Police Department

Canonsburg Police Department recently earned its Certificate of Law Enforcement Accreditation. From left are Lee Bemson of the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission, Canonsburg Mayor David H. Rhome, Canonsburg Police Chief Alex Coghill, Deputy Chief Don Cross, and Scott Bohn, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association.

The Canonsburg Police Department has earned accreditation from the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission, an achievement accomplished by just a small percentage of the state’s approximately 1,100 police departments.

Last week in Harrisburg, Lee Bernson of PLEAC presented the police department with its Certificate of Law Enforcement Accreditation.

Over the past two years, the Canonsburg Police Department has been working to become an accredited law enforcement agency through the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association.

Accreditation helps police departments evaluate and improve their overall performances by adopting and maintaining the best practices and current policies in law enforcement, set by PLEAC.

The Canonsburg Police Department worked intensively to create, modify, and implement policies and procedures to several hundreds of accreditation standards and sub-standards that cover topics including training, equipment, facilities, community relations and internal affairs.

“We knew several years ago that we wanted to achieve accreditation, which is elite status and a big accomplishment in law enforcement,” said Canonsburg Police Chief Alex Coghill. “I think it establishes a legacy of excellence for the police department and our officers, and it serves as a blueprint for the future.”

It’s not an easy process, with only about 171 police departments (including Peters Township Police Department and Pennsylvania Western University – California campus in Washington County) out of the commonwealth’s estimated 1,100 police departments earning accreditation.

As part of the accreditation process, an independent team of assessors visited the police department for an extensive on-site assessment that included a review of the department’s physical facility and an examination of proofs of compliance with the standards.

“The chief, deputy chief and I wanted to be a police department that is the best of the best,” said Canonsburg Mayor David Rhome. “I am extremely proud of the work that Chief Coghill, Deputy Chief Don Cross, the officers of the Canonsburg Police Department, the staff, and borough council did, and how everyone came together to make this happen.”

Accreditation establishes guidelines for evaluating the department’s practices and procedures.

The goal is for departments who implement those practices and incorporate them every day in their policing to be more effective for their communities and to deliver better services to residents.

Coghill noted that accreditation is ongoing.

“The unique part is that every year you have to prove you are doing what’s required to meet accreditation standards,” Coghill said. “I think the community can rest knowing the police department that serves them is following the highest standards of law enforcement.”