Police agency to apply for state accreditation

The arrival of a new law that governs police conduct is an opportunity, as seen by the Walhalla police chief, for his department to go one step farther by applying to be accredited under state standards. Chief Tim Rice made the announcement last night.  Last month Rice acquainted his employers with parts of a bill that revises certain South Carolina law enforcement standards, in the wake of the George Floyd murder by a policeman in Minneapolis.  It’s South Carolina House Bill 3050, and Rice has said he’s willing to sit with any council member interested in learning more about the voluminous provisions, as described by the local police chief.  “There’s a lot of good stuff in there,” commented Rice.  He says the local department is already doing many of the things that changes standards statewide, such as limits on non-certified officers unless in the company of certified officers.  Another change is the definition of the term “misconduct” that changes the way a sheriff or chief law enforcement officer must use when filing a misconduct report against an officer.