During the Tuesday Newton County Commissioner’s meeting, Mr. Mark Bender - Director of State Certification for the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, made a special presentation to Newton County Sheriff Ezell Brown and Sgt. Cortney Morrison.

Sheriff Brown accepted a plaque from Director Bender memorializing the Re-certification of the Newton County Sheriff’s Office. Sgt. Morrison accepted a Certificate of Appreciation from Director Bender for her work as the Newton County Sheriff’s Office State Certification Manager.

As the GACP web site states” Certification is a progressive and time-proven way of helping law enforcement agencies calculate and improve their overall performances. The foundation of certification lies in the promulgation of standards containing a clear statement of professional objectives. Participating agencies conduct a thorough self-analysis to determine how existing operations can be adapted to meet these objectives. When the procedures are in place, a team of trained assessors verifies that applicable standards have been successfully implemented. The process culminates with a decision by a joint executive committee that the agency has met the requirements for certification.

Certification status represents a significant professional achievement. Certification acknowledges the implementation of policies and procedures that are conceptually sound and operationally effective.”

As Director Bender noted during the presentation, there are over 700 law enforcement agencies in the State of Georgia and only approximately 20% have achieved and maintained State Certification Standards.

In accepting the Re-certification plaque, Sheriff Brown stated one of his primary objectives when first elected was to implement “Best Practice” policies and procedures to guide and re-enforce the professionalism of the men and women of the Newton County Sheriff’s Office “. “The initial Certification and this Re-certification was brought about by the hard work of everyone in the Sheriff’s Office”.

Sheriff Brown expressed his thanks to each employee and to the community for the support he has received.