The Erie County Sheriff's Jail Management Division is now formally accredited by the state, nine months after starting the application process.
The executive director of the Sheriff’s Association presented a plaque on behalf of the state to Sheriff Tim Howard and other local officials Tuesday.
A team of independent assessors began the process of reviewing the sheriff’s policies, procedures and performance back in July.
Some of the standards reviewed include employee performance, fiscal management, use of force incidents and health standards.
The state accreditation board unanimously approved the assessment in early September.
"It's not just for bragging rights, although that's a nice position to be in. We think it has many practical and actual positive effects. It improves the operations and performance of the agency, it increases the morale in the agency. The employees know that measured by some objective standard they are doing an excellent job, and that someone has actually taken the time to recognize them for that," said Peter Kehoe, executive director of the Sheriff’s Association.
Jail Management is the third Erie County Sheriff's Office division to receive accreditation, along with Police Services and Civil Enforcement.