The Columbia County School District Police Department (CCSDPD) has recently received state certification in record time.
After establishing a school district police department with full school jurisdiction in 2022, the Columbia County School District was proud to recognize its officers’ hard work at Tuesday evening’s Board of Education meeting for being the fifth school police department to achieve state certification.
Following a rigorous application and process review, the CCSDPD joined the ranks of only 140 top law enforcement agencies.
Out of 700 law enforcement agencies across the state, 41 of which are school police departments, the CCSDPD is one of the few to successfully demonstrate best practices for effective and professional law enforcement.
“It makes our policies bulletproof and it means we’re being held accountable not just by the district, but also by the state of Georgia, because both are saying we’re doing things the right way,” said CCSDPD Chief Gary Owens. “… now our policies have been certified and it’s a huge milestone.”
More than anything, Owens said the state accreditation simply signifies a promise to excellence and following state standards, because his department’s mission is to create a safe environment for uninterrupted learning.
“You have to have a solid foundation to build a department on, and if your policies are certified that’s a really solid foundation that’s also being inspected by the state,” he said. “It makes for 100% effective law enforcement.”
Cornerstones of the certification program include professionalism, positive community support, transparency, ethical conduct and more, according to a press release from the school district.
“We are so proud of our outstanding team of professional law enforcement officers and staff for their continued dedication to the safety of our school, students and staff,” said Superintendent Steven Flynt.
As part of the accreditation process, the CCSDPD met a required 141 standards covering the nine areas essential to effective law enforcement, and the typical 36-month process was completed in a remarkable 13 months, signifying the CCSDPD commitment to excellence.
“This certification is an impressive achievement and is emblematic of the great work that is taking place all across the Columbia County School District every day to help ensure our students receive the high-quality education that they deserve, in a safe positive environment.” Flynt said.
In 2018, the Columbia County Board of Education first approved placement of a dedicated, POST-certified, school resource officer in every school, and today the school district boasts every school having two school resource officers and a certified district training officer to establish school safety.
Owens said earning state recognition was an absolute team effort that required the dedication of many officers and staff members.
“I’m just so proud … but now the challenge is in keeping it,” he said. “It doesn’t end today. Now we really have to get to work on continuing to follow and abide by those 140+ policies.”
With accreditation complete, Owens said the CCSDPD will continue to participate in compliance monitoring and embodying transparency with the community.
