By Rich Pollack
The Highland Beach Police Department will be moving forward with several initiatives, all aimed at enhancing the level of professional services it provides to residents.
During a presentation to the Town Commission last month, Police Chief Craig Hartmann said the department has begun working toward credentials from the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation.
The department is also exploring way to improve its emergency dispatch process for police and fire rescue calls, and will be changing the look of its patrol cars to signal the improvements taking place, he said. To assist with the accreditation process, the department recently hired veteran Delray Beach police officer Eric Aronowitz, who will lead the effort and also be responsible for training.
Earning the accreditation, Hartmann said, will help the department confirm that its processes, practices and procedures are all done as professionally as possible. Costs to the town, which include a nominal filing fee, will be minimal, he said.
“The accreditation is the gold seal for a department,” he said. “It can help you be more efficient and it ensures that you have everything needed to provide the best level of service to residents.”
In order to receive the recognition, the department is required to be in compliance with mandatory standards set down by the commission and must undergo an onsite review. After that, the department will be required to go through a review every three years.
During his presentation, Hartmann told commissioners that the department is also exploring the possibility of a partnership with the city of Delray Beach to simplify its emergency dispatch system.
Currently, 911 calls for emergency services are fielded by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office central dispatch center. Police calls are dispatched to Highland Beach Police officers, but fire and medical calls — which are handled under a contract with Delray Beach Fire-Rescue — must then be forwarded to dispatchers in Delray Beach before they are sent out.
Hartmann and Delray Beach Fire-Rescue Chief Danielle Connor told commissioners they are studying the possibility of simplifying the process by having all calls go directly to dispatchers in Delray Beach.
Delray Beach Fire-Rescue, which operates a station within the Highland Beach town limits, handled 736 calls in town during the last fiscal year, Connor said, with 536 of those calls being medical responses.
The average response times for those calls, she said, was below four minutes, well within standards. Still, both Connor and Hartmann believe services to residents could be improved with a new more direct system.
The department will be changing the look of its blue and white police cars, to black and white and will be adding a Ford Explorer to the fleet.
In other business:
The Beaches and Shores Advisory Board is looking for volunteers to help with a town-wide volunteer Beach Cleaning Day on April 8.
Coordinators are hoping between 25 and 30 volunteers will help with the clean up, which will begin at 9 a.m. and go until about 11:30 a.m.
The town will provide up to $500 for trash bags, gloves, water and 20 trash grabbers.
To find out more about the event or to volunteer, call town hall at (561) 278-4548.
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