Note: While this blog's primary aim is to publish concise information for the voters of Louisa County, we have also been struck by the numbers of supporters who have submitted their letters for publication in the local paper, only to be ignored.
This letter is from a supporter of Mike's campaign for Sheriff of Louisa County, and a concerned citizen and resident of Louisa County. She conducted her own independent research about the history of Accreditation in the Sheriff's Office. Here's what she found:
To the Voters of Louisa County:
This election season the message to the public has been “we
have gone as far as we can with accreditation”.
Documents I received through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) would
suggest otherwise. In the election year
of 2007, Ashland Fortune is quoted in the Meet the Candidate edition of The
Central Virginian dated March 1, 2007 as being on the “last leg” of the accreditation
process, when in fact, the Agency had not even submitted their application or
agency profile.
Documents I obtained from The Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) show the Agency didn’t submit their application and agency profile until August 3, 2007 (see below). The agency never submitted a request for an Initial Assessment from DCJS. The agency also never requested an extension at the end of the 36 month period required to obtain accreditation. They submitted two documents then did nothing further, I wonder why? How could they have been on the “last leg” of the process when they had not even submitted an application? How could they achieve accreditation by Fall of 2007 when they never requested the initial assessment? Sounds like election rhetoric to me.
Source: Virginia DCJS FOIA Response
At the March 19, 2007 Board of Supervisors meeting, Ashland
Fortune introduced Mr. Gary Dillon, Program Manager for the Virginia
Accreditation Center to speak about the benefits of an agency being accredited. In Mr. Dillon’s presentation he states
several times the Accreditation program is “very cost effective” and “designed
to be affordable and achievable by all
agencies in Virginia”. Mr. Dillon stated
“the accreditation could be completed within a year, if the necessary time is
dedicated”. In an article titled Accreditation
a Goal of the Sheriff’s Office in The Central Virginian, April 19, 2007 issue,
Chief Deputy Donnie Lowe is quoted saying “it is the primary goal of the
department” and “The LCSO has been focused on achieving accreditation
since 2000”. That is seven years! Lowe
also explained “the sheriff’s office still has work to accomplish but their
goal is to achieve accreditation by the Fall [of 2007]”. At the end of the presentation, our
Supervisors voted 4-0 to support the Sheriff’s Department to pursue involvement
with the Accreditation program.
An excerpt from the cited article:
Fast forward eight years to this election year, Ashland
Fortune and Donnie Lowe contend the LCSO can’t obtain accreditation without a “multi-million
dollar” building, so they are no longer pursuing it. Yet, the Colonial Beach Police Department is located
in a “strip mall” (shopping center type building) and they are accredited. The Hopewell Police Department is located in the
basement of the city office building (just like ours) and they are
accredited. Lowe also contends they can’t
hire an Accreditation Officer because of budgetary restrictions, yet D.L.
Bateman signed the paperwork submitted to DCJS in 2007 as the Program Manager
and contact person. Mr. Bateman is still employed at LCSO. (See below document)
They submitted an application, that’s it! The seven years prior they were so focused on
the process, five months prior they stated they were on the “last leg”
and “real excited about this”. They
submitted an application, the election took place, and they never looked at it again. That is what the paperwork tells me! Surprising, the current administration have
chosen to focus so much on integrity and honesty in light of these
actions. Actions speak louder than
words, hold them accountable this election.
The voters believed what was
said in 2007, believe the actions Now!
The following section from the Program Manual for
Accreditation describes a small part of the program and its goal:
The ultimate goal of all
accreditation programs is enhanced service delivery. The goal of the Virginia
Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission is to make available a
framework whereby the Virginia law enforcement community is provided a
voluntary, relatively cost-free accreditation program that is comprehensive,
obtainable, and based on standards that reflect professional service delivery.
In developing the program, the Board recognized the limited financial and
manpower resources of a great many departments, and developed standards that
would not place overwhelming demands on those resources.
The standards
developed are the basis of an accreditation program that affects every
component of the agencies involved. Through the dedication to service and
professionalism evidenced by obtainment of accredited status, law enforcement
agencies can greatly enhance the services they deliver to the communities they
serve.
Again, the words
spoken by the current administration do
not match the documentation.
Please VOTE Mike Silberman on November 3rd to get our
Sheriff’s Office accredited. Our County,
our Department and our Deputies deserve it!
Stephanie Lacey
Bumpass, VA
Additional document(s) supplied by DCJS in Mrs. Lacey's FOIA request:
