Georgetown Police Department received the Texas Police Chiefs Association’s Recognized Law Enforcement Agency award.
The department earned the award from the TPCA’s Law Enforcement Recognition Program in May after a more than two-year application process that included a critical review of the agency’s policies, procedures, facilities, and operations. Georgetown is only the 154th agency out of more than 2,700 agencies in the state to receive the recognition.
“Achieving this status places Georgetown among the state’s top law enforcement agencies,” Chief Wayne Nero said. “This process provided for an independent review of the department’s operations and should assure the residents of Georgetown that its police department is conforming to current state-of-the-art standards and practices in law enforcement. It also supports our relationships in the community to instill confidence in our abilities and our compassion for the people we serve.”
These best practices cover all aspects of law enforcement operations, including use of force, protection of citizen rights, vehicle pursuits, property and evidence management, and patrol and investigative operations.
In simpler terms, he says, consider a person who needs surgery. Patients want the doctors and teams who are certified in a particular specialty rather than general practice. The Georgetown Police Department is now that specialist; certified as an elite law enforcement organization—equal to the best departments in the state.
“This is just the beginning,” Chief Nero says. “Having reached this benchmark, we will continue to implement best practices over succeeding four-year periods to keep our organization on solid ground, maintain strong legal foundations in our investigations, and mitigate anything that gets other departments in trouble.”
Chief Nero has always embraced a philosophy of excellence and maintaining high standards; “When you expect more and give clear guidance, people perform better.”
He also gives much credit his staff, all of whom had input on training, policy development and engagement in the process, especially Lt. Renee Koog who did a great deal of work on rewriting department policies, and Capt. Amy Janik who oversaw the whole process.
Chief Nero said, “Our region has a long history of being safe and the data proves it. Georgetown is the number 2 safest city of our size in Texas and the Safety Center our resident bond approved continues to be a part of our achievements. There is nothing like it, in one place, in the state, and we realize that to whom much is given…I’d like to think we are delivering on that promise. This accreditation is good evidence of that.”
Ironic but impressive, GPD continues to maintain these high public safety ratings with the lowest officer to citizen ratio in the state, and has plans in place to be even more proactive with greater resources.
