The Champaign Police Department is seeking accreditation from the Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Program, or ILEAP, provided by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. The assessment begins Thursday.

The Champaign Police Department is seeking accreditation from the Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Program, or ILEAP, provided by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. The assessment begins Thursday.

But some community members said ILEAP’s evaluation is coming at a bad time because of the issues surrounding the death of Kiwane Carrington. The 15-year-old Champaign resident was killed after Officer Daniel Norbits’ gun was discharged Oct. 9 in an altercation that also involved Champaign Chief of Police R.T. Finney.

Three officers from ILEAP will visit Champaign to examine the Champaign Police Department, including its policies, procedures and management, according to a press release from the department. The on-site assessment is estimated to take two days, during which the team will determine if the Champaign police meet the 182 standards of ILEAP.

“Accreditation is based on standards that we think a police department needs,” said Frank Kaminski, chair for ILEAP and Police Chief for Park Ridge, Ill. “It (ILEAP) covers pursuit, use of force, discipline and a wide range of other policies.”

Kankakee is the only police department that has been awarded ILEAP accreditation since the program began.

“We’ve been working on this for 10 years, but we just started awarding accreditations,” he said. “We have over a dozen others (police departments) in the pipeline.”

Community members brought up the issue of accreditation at Tuesday’s Champaign City Council meeting.

“They’re seeking accreditation from ILEAP while under investigation for the death of Kiwane Carrington, while his family is still in mourning,” said Rev. Evelyn B. Underwood, Urbana resident.

City Manager Steve Carter said becoming state or nationally accredited has been a goal for the department since 2002, but acknowledged that the process is culminating at a difficult moment.

“The timing could be better,” Carter said, referring to the ongoing investigation into Carrington’s death.

Underwood also said the department should seek accreditation from a national board instead of from the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, adding that Finney serves as the second vice president for the organization.

“The ILEAP accreditation team is made up mostly of Illinois law enforcement, so it’s like the police policing themselves,” Underwood said.

Brian Dolinar, member of CU Citizens for Peace and Justice, said the investigation of the Oct. 9 incident could hamper the accreditation process.

“It’s bad that Illinois State Police are assessing the police while investigating Finney,” Dolinar said.

However, Carter said Finney’s position with the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police would not conflict with the ILEAP process.

“I think the fact that R.T. (Finney) serves on this is great,” Carter said. He added that the police department would be seeking national accreditation once the verdict on state accreditation was rendered.