The Pentwater Police Department has been working for several years toward receiving accreditation from the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police. This association has established a Standards Manual for the Michigan Law Enforcement Program and evaluates individual police departments on the basis of their adherence to the standards set forth in the manual.
Pentwater Police Chief Laude Hartrum has announced that the last step in the accreditation process will be an on-site visit from the association’s assessment team on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. Department employees and members of the general public are invited to provide comments to the assessment team by telephone or email. Calls (no longer than 5 minutes) will be accepted at 231-742-5536 from 9-11 a.m. on Dec. 9. Emails can be sent to ppdaccreditation@pentwatervillage.org.
Comments and emails must relate to the local agency’s compliance with standards in the state’s manual. For that reason, it is important to know what those standards are. Chief Hartrum has made that possible by posting a PDF of the standards manual on the front page of the village website, pentwatervillage.org. The manual is 88 pages long, and the first two chapters deal only with internal department functions, but chapters 3–6 deal with external situations that the public can appropriately address:
• Chapter 3 deals with arrest and interview procedures, communications, responses to field calls, traffic safety and incident security.
• Chapter 4 covers investigating, crime scene processing, evidence storage, juvenile cases and special investigations.
• Chapter 5 describes standards for arrests, processing and housing of detainees.
• Chapter 6 has to do with school safety.
Accreditation is a proven way of enabling police agencies to evaluate and improve their performance. “Accreditation is a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence.”
The Pentwater police agency must comply with 108 standards for accreditation. Hartrum recited the benefits: “Accreditation results in greater accountability within the agency, reduced risk and liability exposure, stronger defense against civil lawsuits, increased community advocacy and more confidence in the agency’s ability to operate efficiently and respond to community needs.”
One further way to support the Pentwater Police Department is to send written comments to the Accreditation Program manager, Matt Silverthorn, at msilverthorn@michiganpolicechiefs.org or write to the Michigan Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission at 3474 Alaiedon Pkwy, Suite 600, Okemos, MI 48864.
Chief Hartrum added that he is grateful for all expressions of public support.
