The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded Michigan law enforcement a $99,760 grant to improve a statewide accreditation program.
Director of Professional Development for the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police Neil Rossow currently runs the Michigan Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission.
He said the money will be used to fund a full-time program director which would help make accreditation more efficient. So far, around 17-percent of police agencies in Michigan are accredited.
He said the grant will focus on making the program more accessible for smaller, rural agencies.
"It’s growing quicker than the national accreditation group is," he said. "The state accreditation within the United States probably accredits ten times the number of agencies that the national group does."
The accreditation program certifies that police agencies meet a consistent and updated set of professional standards, Rossow said. Those include use of force policies and mental health treatment for police officers.