Total Team Effort

It’s a total team effort, you know? Not just the police. The council, the mayor, the city administrator – they were all very positive about going through this process. So, we’re here and we’ve done it. Now we’ve just got to keep it up because it’s an every-year thing.””

Katy Police Chief Noe Diaz

The Katy Police Department announced via an Oct. 16 press release that it has earned the award of Recognized Law Enforcement Agency from the Texas Police Chiefs Association’s Law Enforcement Recognition Program.

“We are the 170th (department recognized) so we’re among the 6% of police departments (in Texas) that have this accreditation,” Katy Police Chief Noe Diaz said. “It’s important to me, as a professional police officer to ensure that the city is aware that this office is healthy. It’s accredited.”

Diaz said the process to receive the recognition was extensive and involved a group effort from throughout his department, the people at Katy City Hall that support the department and the residents who offer their support to the department as well.

The requirements for KPD to be recognized included meeting high standards, Diaz said.

“The requirement’s by the (Texas) Police Chiefs Association at the state level and it encompasses all things police-related – policies, procedures, jail upkeep, property room (processes), records handling, records retention, training for staff, continuing education for staff. Things like that,” Diaz said. “So, it’s everything that you could think of that would apply to a normal business, so it’s basically governmental compliance of a police department.”

Katy Mayor and former Police Chief Bill Hastings said he was very proud of the department for the hard work it took to get the Recognized Law Enforcement Agency certification. He also praised Assistant Chief Tim Tyler who had attended a conference in 2018 where he heard about the certification and began working on policies almost immediately afterward to make sure the department was set up to move forward and obtain that recognition.

“When I left (KPD, Tyler) had probably finished maybe three or four policies that were in the works, redoing our manual,” Hastings said. “Tim has worked very diligently for the last year and a half – almost two years – he finally finished every policy and the Texas Police Chiefs Association came in, did an audit, and (KPD was) awarded their credentials for best practices policies.”

Hastings said he was grateful to Diaz for continuing to pursue the certification and supporting Tyler and the rest of the KPD team in the pursuit of the Texas Police Chiefs Association recognition.

According to the Texas Police Chiefs Association website, the certification involves a review of written policies, law enforcement licenses held by agency staff, internal investigations guidelines and practices, sexual harassment prevention steps, personal integrity requirements, training in the appropriate use of deadly force, written policies regarding off-duty employment for officers, general use of force policies and practices, vehicle pursuits training, hostage incident training, policies related to transportation of suspects and prisoners and inventory and property control procedures.

Diaz said ensuring that everyone the department interacts with is treated with dignity and respect is a large part of the certification process as well and that he is proud of his team for maintaining a high standard for interacting with the public.

Prior to receiving the award, KPD underwent a voluntary self-review of policies, procedures, facilities and operations which began April 24. The department analyzed itself by preparing proofs of compliance for each of the Texas Law Enforcement Best Practices identified by the Texas Police Chiefs Association which were then followed by an on-site review of the department’s operations by police chiefs from other areas of the state. Results of that review were then sent to the Texas Police Chiefs Association’s Recognition Committee for analysis, which ultimately made the decision to certify the department with the Recognized Law Enforcement Department award, according to the press release.

Diaz said the award would not have been possible without the support of the general public, staff at Katy City Hall, Katy City Council members and all of his staff at KPD.

“It’s a total team effort, you know?” Diaz said. “Not just the police. The council, the mayor, the city administrator – they were all very positive about going through this process. So, we’re here and we’ve done it. Now we’ve just got to keep it up because it’s an every-year thing.”