Town will save on insurance

MANALAPAN - Municipal officials were recently informed that Manalapan will receive a $7,652 discount from its total 2007 liability insurance total of $539,479, according to township administrator Tara Lovrich.

Lovrich recently informed the Town-ship Committee that the savings are the result of the Manalapan Police Depart-ment having received accreditation through the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police.

According to Lovrich, the accreditation program, Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), which is recognized by the federal accreditation process, requires agencies to meet 146 recognized standards set for "best practices" for law enforcement.

Lovrich said the requirements are for policy and practices and the township's accreditation was attained after a team of independent law enforcement assessors spent time visiting the police department to ensure that the recognized standards were being met.

According to Lovrich, the CALEA program is recognized as being so effective that the insurance industry officially recognizes the accreditation as being a liability reduction.

That is why a municipality is given an insurance discount after its police department successfully completes the process, she said.

Members of the public had a chance to offer comments about the police department during the accreditation process.