POLICE RECEIVES The Highest State Award (Again!)

The Plantation Police Department received its third consecutive Excelsior Award at the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement State conference in St. Augustine recently.

Chief Howard Harrison accepted the award, which is presented to departments that maintain compliance with 90 state standards and nearly 1,000 national standards. The conference in St. Augustine also brought about the seventh consecutive reaccreditation for the Plantation department.

Only 80 agencies of the more than 300 municipal, county, and state law enforcement agencies achieve Excelsior status.

“The compliance with necessary standards and qualifications can be overwhelming,” Chief Harrison said. Program compliance includes:

• Review of applicable department policies

• Review of training records and compliance

• Property and evidence compliance

• Organizational and community engagement

“Our state and national accreditation programs are an essential part of our daily operations at the police department,” Harrison said, praising the officers’ and civilian support staff’s “hard work and dedication day-in and day-out.”

Plantation Police Department has 180 sworn officers and 102 civilian support staff, such as Administrative Assistants, Records Assistants, Community Service Aides, Public Safety Dispatchers, Property Assistants, Crime Scene Technicians and Code Enforcement Inspectors.

The Plantation Police Department includes the Patrol, Investigations, Support and General Services divisions, with specialized units including; DUI, SWAT, K-9, Training, and the Community Engagement Unit.

But there also is an emphasis on outreach, so residents can know their officers. Examples include The Fuzz, PPD’s own band performing live at city events; PPD’s Basketball, Softball Teams and the Citizens Police Academy, for residents interested in learning about police operations.

“The Plantation Police Department is one of our city’s gems,” Mayor Nick Sortal said. “We are a full-service department, meaning we respond to all calls for service.”

Sortal adds that police operations work better when the public is involved as our eyes and ears. He encourages all residents to put 954-797-2100 in their phone and mark it “Plantation Police.”