Highland Village Police Department receives ‘Best Practices’ award

The Highland Village Police Department was recently recognized for adhering to “best practices” by the Texas Police Chiefs Association.

HVPD was presented the Texas Law Enforcement Best Practices Recognition Program Award on Tuesday, according to a city news release. The award recognizes the department’s compliance with the Police Chiefs Association’s best business practices since 2009.

“For Highland Village, this means you have one of the best police departments in the state of Texas,” said Tom Shehan with the Texas Law Enforcement Best Practices Program.

The program, similar to accreditation for universities, has established a set of 168 professional standards based on Texas law, contemporary best practices, and court decisions, the news release said. The standards address a full range of law enforcement operations such as use of force, protection of citizen rights, property and evidence management and more.

Annual reports submitted to the Texas Police Chiefs Association confirm the department continued to meet the standards, and an on-site review is required every four years. Earlier this year trained assessors spent two days conducting the on-site assessment, according to the city.