The St. Joseph Police Department proudly serves the citizens of St. Joseph and holds itself to the highest standards of professionalism and accountability. With an internal system of checks and balances, Sgt. Marla Doty's job is to ensure that we continue our tradition of excellence in service and competence to the citizens that we serve. We strive to be a department that citizens take pride in, and work in partnership with, to prevent and control crime.

As a result of fiscal constraints the St. Joseph Police Department relinquished its status as an accredited agency in December 2010. The St. Joseph Police Department achieved its initial accreditation with the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies in November of 2002. In December of 2005 the Department underwent our first reaccreditation assessment. We experienced great success with that assessment, as we did again in August 2008 with our second reaccreditation. The last accreditation process came with an unexpected bonus, as we achieved the designation as a Flagship Agency. We are proud of this accomplishment, and grateful for this recognition. We have learned to apply many of the principles of accreditation, including continuous improvement and the use of subject matter experts to assess our compliance with best practices. These principles have been incorporated into our organizational culture.

We have created and maintain a strict system of written directives and standards that is a proven management system clearly defining our lines of authority. This system also demonstrates our agency's commitment to excellence in leadership, resource management and service delivery. This allows government officials more confidence in our ability to operate efficiently and to meet community needs.

Some specific areas of concentration by the Police Department include:

• Strengthened crime prevention and control capabilities
• Solidify interagency cooperation and coordination
• Improve the delivery of police services
• Formalize essential management procedures
• Establish fair and non-discriminatory personnel practices
• Increase citizen confidence in the agency

These specific areas should address every aspect of the department's operations and establish the best professional practices for us to follow.

Part of our self-assessment process includes conducting internal audits performed by subject matter experts from outside our agency who are familiar with various operational and administrative functions of the police department. They are specifically asked to look at strengths and weaknesses of our department and make suggestions on how we can improve our service and performance.

In addition to the duties listed above, Sgt. Doty is also responsible for the annual staff inspection process, coordinating the promotional process, arranging the Awards Ceremony and is in charge of Recruitment. She also assists the Professional Standards Sergeant with investigations on citizen complaints. To contact Sgt. Doty, you may call her office at 816) 271-4709 or by email at mdoty@ci.st-joseph.mo.us.