professional standards division
| The Professional Standards Division is overseen by Captain Ryan VanderVeen and consists of the Staff Services Bureau and the Community Services Bureau. These Bureaus primarily have two different focuses. The Staff Services Bureau handles functions that mainly impacts the Police Department’s staff. Whereas, the Community Services Bureau’s job is to work with different groups in our community to improve their day-to-day quality of life. The Staff Services Bureau consists of a sergeant, property manager, training officer, training specialist, and a part-time cadet. The Community Services Bureau has a sergeant, two community officers, three school resource officers, a code enforcement specialist, two part-time code enforcement technicians, a part-time volunteer coordinator, and a part-time cadet. The Staff Services Bureau handles recruiting and hiring for the Department, both sworn and civilian staff. When the Department hires one police officer, it conducts a minimum of two panel interviews, an assessment center with a reality-based scenario, as well as over 40 hours of background investigation. The candidates must additionally pass a physical and psychological exam prior to a final offer of employment. Due to the complexity of the profession, police officers must constantly attend training to refresh themselves on current best practices in law enforcement and updated law changes. They need to practice their physical skills to maintain proficiency and improve their decision making skills. These areas include firearms, subject control, precision driving, and police tactics. Officers who have specialized assignments must also receive training for those positions. These range from interview and interrogation, death investigations, crimes against children, and internal affairs investigations to Basic SWAT training, leadership development, surveillance training, and crisis intervention. |
contact:
Recruitment
Ofc. Ryan Smith
616-656-6685
smithr@kentwood.us
Professional Standards Division
Sgt. Zach Smigiel
616-656-6681
smigielz@kentwood.us
Cpt. Ryan VanderVeen
616-656-6500
vanderveenr@kentwood.us