Personnel Division

The Personnel Division is responsible for all Department Personnel paperwork, training, payroll, accreditation, grants management, social media platforms and the Department's Policy and Procedures.

The following units are assigned to the Personnel Division:

Training Unit

Provides training to all Department employees and acts as the liaison for the Police Officers assigned to the Police Academy. The Training Unit also conducts the Citizen's Police Academy and the Youth Police Academy.

Accreditation  

Accreditation is a progressive and contemporary way of helping police agencies evaluate and improve their overall performance. It provides formal recognition that an organization meets or exceeds general expectations of quality in the field. Accreditation acknowledges the implementation of policies that are conceptually sound and operationally effective.

The New York State program became operational in 1989 and encompasses four principle goals:

1. To increase the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement agencies utilizing existing personnel, equipment and facilities to the extent possible;
2. To promote increased cooperation and coordination among law enforcement agencies and other agencies of the criminal justice services;
3. To ensure the appropriate training of law enforcement personnel; and
4. To promote public confidence in law enforcement agencies.

The Accreditation Program is comprised of a set of standards developed to further enhance the capabilities of an agency, and is divided into three categories. Standards in the Administrative section have provisions for such topics as agency organization, fiscal management, personnel practices, and records management. Training standards encompass basic and in-service instruction, as well as training for supervisors and specialized or technical assignments. Operations standards deal with such critical and litigious topics as high-speed pursuits, roadblocks, patrol, and unusual occurrences.

The Mount Vernon Police Department is proud to have maintained its NYS DCJS Accreditation since 1995.

Grants

The Office of Personnel and Accreditation is tasked with maintaining the Department's grants and seeking out new grant opportunities in order to better fund the Police Department. The Department's Grants Officer is tasked with maintaining numerous grants, such as:

• Gun Involved Violence Elimination Grant
• The Department of Justice's Edward Bryne 'JAG' Grant
• The New York State Discovery Reform Grant
• The FEMA CARES Act Grant
• The NYS Governor's Traffic Safety Committee Grant
• The Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant

Payroll

The Office is responsible for the on-boarding, off-boarding and payroll for approximately 260 Department employees and maintains not only their payroll files but also their personnel files and medical files. 

Policy and Procedure

The Office is responsible to updating the Department's Policies and Procedures to not only ensure conformance with changes in federal and state laws, but to ensure that the Policies and Procedures are in compliance with the best practices as law enforcement evolves. Each of the Department's policies are reviewed and revised yearly.

Some of the policy changes that have occurred since January 2020 include:

Social Media

The Office is responsible for the Department's robust Social Media across the following social media platforms:

https://www.facebook.com/mtvernonpoliceNY/

https://www.instagram.com/mtvernonpolice/

https://twitter.com/MtVernonPolice