The Richmond Hill Police Department was recognized recently by the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police for completing state certification credentials.
President of the association and Garden City Chief of Police David Lyons was on hand Tuesday during the council’s regular meeting to present Richmond Hill Police Chief Billy Reynolds with a plaque for the department’s achievement.
“There’s about 100-120 standards in the process that they have to adhere to and the recertification process is for three years,” Lyons said. “So for three years they have to meet those 120 standards that range in every aspect of police work from investigation to chain of command to uniforms to every facet of police work you could imagine — there is a standard to cover it.”
Lyons described putting together the information as a “daunting task” and said he knew first hand the work that went into it.
“I’m also the chief of a certified police agency, so I know the work that goes into it,” Lyons said. “I know the process inside and out, and I know what the Richmond Hill Police Department had to put into this process to get to this point tonight.”
In turn, Reynolds recognized Jason Sakelarios and Beth Bullwinkle for their time and efforts in helping the department through the certification process.
“I’d like to say we’ve received this since 1999, so it’s been several years now,” Reynolds said. “And we’ve got some special people who make this happen. It’s not me, I’ve got people who work for me that actually do this, and this is one of their main services in police department to write policies, address policies, (etc.).”
Lyons echoed those comments.
“There’s got to be someone in the office — the boots on the ground and get some work done,” he said. “Being from a department about the same size as Richmond Hill, I know you can’t afford to have one guy or one girl that that’s all they do. This is basically a part-time job for these folks.”