By JULIA GLICK Staff Writer, (609) 272-7213

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP - The township police force received accreditation from the New Jersey State Association of Police Chiefs, making the department one of two in the state to be recognized.

The voluntary accreditation certifies that the Police Department meets 146 rigorous professional standards, and it will lower the township's insurance premiums, Police Chief John Coyle said.

"We have always had a good police force," Coyle said. "This reconfirms that we are doing things the right way and meeting high standards that are national."

The association notified the Police Department on Tuesday and will present the accreditation formally in January.

The New Jersey State Association of Police Chiefs is an independent association that started evaluating police departments about three years ago and is affiliated with the national Commission on Law Enforcement Accreditation.

The certification will lower the township's insurance liability premiums by 5 percent and workman's compensation insurance by an unknown amount, Coyle said.

It means that the Police Department does an excellent job in keeping officers and residents safe, he added.

He said that Lt. Larry Szapor and the whole police force worked on the accreditation process over the last two years.

Stafford Township is the only other township to receive the accreditation. Forty-three other municipalities are now working toward the certification, including Ocean City, Galloway Township, Atlantic City and Dover Township.