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The Windsor Police Department’s journey toward earning state accreditation is not yet complete, but the final stages of it have been scheduled for this summer.

BACKGROUND ON THE JOURNEY

It was announced in September 2023 that Windsor had reached a written settlement with Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares to resolve a lawsuit alleging an “unlawful pattern” of conduct by the Windsor Police Department (WPD).

The 11-page court order, which Judge H. Thomas Padrick signed on Sept. 7, 2023, required the WPD to obtain accreditation from the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission (VLEPSC), which Miyares described as the “gold standard in policing” in a news release.

Riddle had previously shared information on his department’s accreditation journey in January 2024 and October 2024 interviews. 

THE LATEST UPDATE

He responded promptly Thursday, May 22, to a request for a fresh update.

While the accreditation process is not complete, he noted that the mock on-site assessment has been scheduled for June, and the actual VLEPSC assessment is set for July.

“WPD is ready for the final assessment, much of the work is complete, and the on-site mock will give us the feedback we need to polish things up for the actual assessment,” he said. “Working with the assessors has been a great experience, and they were all very positive and encouraging with their feedback, tips and suggestions. This is a tedious process, but the WPD accreditation team has remained focused and worked diligently to complete the necessary requirements.”

The accreditation process has involved bringing WPD policies into alignment with the accreditation standards set by the VLEPSC, and then the WPD has been required to gather proof that it is, in fact, following these aligned policies.

“All proofs have been gathered, and all non-occurrence memos have been drafted,” Riddle said May 22. “The accreditation team finished that process just before the holidays in December of 2024.” 

He explained what “non-occurrence memos” are.

“All WPD policies follow VLEPSC standards, however some of the policies cover incidents or events that have not occurred during the assessment period,” he said. “When that happens a non-occurrence memo is generated to explain why there is no proof of compliance with the policy.”

In October, Riddle had noted that after proof collection was finished, WPD would run a mock assessment in PowerDMS virtually to see what corrections or adjustments needed to be made by the WPD’s accreditation team. PowerDMS is an accreditation management software system.

“The online mock assessment occurred during the month of February and took most of the month to complete,” Riddle said May 22. “Five assessors went through and analyzed WPD policy and proofs and returned a substantial amount of feedback. That feedback was compiled by the WPD assessment team and reviewed, and then corrections began to the deficiencies identified. That process was completed in mid-April. 

“The application for official assessment was submitted to (the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services) in early May of 2025, and the official assessment was scheduled for mid-July 2025,” he added. “WPD will conduct an on-site mock assessment in mid-June prior to the official on-site assessment. The biggest hang-up has been finding assessors to volunteer to assist with the mocks and then finding dates that can accommodate everyone’s schedule.”