Law enforcement accreditation is a self-initiated, voluntary process where law enforcement
agencies operate within a specific set of state and nationally recognized standards or best
practices within the industry. The accreditation process focuses on standards that provide best practices related to life, health, and safety procedures for the agency. These standards are considered foundational for contemporary law enforcement agencies.

Maintaining accredited status is an ongoing process whereby agencies continue to commit to
abide by those standards and best practices to ensure their employees are trained and prepared to meet basic community service expectations and to manage critical events.

The Hope Police Department was notified on August 22nd, 2023, after an onsite audit, that they had once again met the extremely demanding set of standards set forth by the Arkansas Law Enforcement Accreditation Program and the auditing committee had unanimously voted to bestow the Tier I Advanced Reaccreditation status to the Hope Police Department for another three-year period.

Chief Kim Tomlin stated, “The Hope Police Department remains committed to being a law
enforcement agency that the citizens of Hope can be proud of. One of the ways we do that is to hold ourselves to a higher standard, and maintaining Arkansas accreditation helps us do that. I am extremely proud of Hope Police Department’s accredited status and of all of the
accomplishments of the men and women of the Hope Police Department.”