In September of 2020, I had the honor of following in the footsteps of Mark O’Donnell as Chief of the North Fayette Township Police Department. Accepting this position was both exciting and daunting, as the standard of excellence was set so high. After a brief audit of our team, it was easy to see that the forward progression and success of our department would not be incumbent on me alone - the talented and passionate members of our organization were on the front line and ready to continue our mission of Servant Leadership and promoting our core values of Integrity, Courage, Respect, Duty, Trust, Loyalty, and Pride!
Over the course of the next 28 months, we navigated through the loss of Sergeant Michael Hayes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a myriad of exterior social issues plaguing law enforcement. In response, we rewrote our entire policy manual, continuing our tradition of excellence and providing more transparency. One piece of the puzzle was missing, to convey our commitment to the community to provide the highest quality of law enforcement service. We found that answer in the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Program.
On September 21, 2023, the North Fayette Township Police received a Certificate of Law Enforcement Accreditation from the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association. This high honor is bestowed on the proud members of this organization after having fulfilled the necessary qualifications and mandatory requirements of the program by voluntarily complying with the provisions of professional law enforcement accreditation. The North Fayette Township Police Department has achieved and demonstrated the highest acknowledged standards required by the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission, and as a result, was unanimously approved by the PA Chiefs of Police.
On October 25, 2023, we humbly accepted the certificate from the PLEAC Commission in Hershey, PA. We will strive to maintain this level of excellence for all of those who we serve, and beyond. For more information on the PLEAC Accreditation program, I encourage you to visit the Accreditation Program page on the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police website.
Sincerely,
North Fayette Police Chief Donald Cokus
Shown accepting the accreditation certificate are (2nd from left), Lieutenant Steve Psomas, Lieutenant Chad Slovick, Chief Donald Cokus, and Lieutenant Mark Kern