A firm that investigates misconduct in law enforcement agencies won’t be submitting a bid for the Canton Police Department audit because of an unrealistic timeframe and cost, its founder says.

Speaking with the Herald on Tuesday, Lawrence Smith, CEO of Massachusetts-based STIRM Group, said he believes the town of Canton should withdraw the request for proposals and start anew.

Smith pointed to the RFP’s “inherently vague” scope of services, adding he believes the $200,000 and a handful of months allotted for the effort should be at least $500,000 and at least a year.

Smith has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience in the state.

“It’s a no-win situation. It’s a lose-lose-lose,” he said. “You’re not going to get the answers that you’re expecting to get. You’re not going to get the quality of work that you want. And there’s no goals to be met and obtained … for the audit firm.”

His comments came after he wrote a recent letter to the Police Audit Committee that raised his team’s concerns with the RFP. In it, he stated: “It will be exceedingly difficult for the (town) to attract a reputable team of subject matter experts willing to take on the project.”

The committee is looking to select a firm by the end of October, to start the audit in November. A final report and presentation are scheduled to be submitted and made next spring.

The scope of services includes an audit of the department’s policies and procedures, and adherence to the policies and procedures. Items listed include crime scene protocols, professional standards and accountability, operations and culture, hiring and training standards, etc.

“Recent events involving the unfortunate and untimely death of a Town resident have sparked concerns regarding how the department operates not only in its response to such events,” the RFP’s background section states, “but more generally in how the department operates every day in police matters.”

The RFP does not directly mention the Karen Read and Sandra Birchmore cases, both have led to sharp division in the Greater Boston community, ultimately leading to the audit.

In his letter to the audit committee, Smith suggested “appointing a special prosecutor,” someone such as a retired federal prosecutor or magistrate from outside of Massachusetts to investigate “any ongoing criminal activity discovered during the audit.”

He connected the recommendation to “widespread distrust of law enforcement agencies involved in both the Read and Birchmore cases,” extending to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office.

“The community is expecting this ‘audit’ to be completed timely in order for the findings and recommendations to be incorporated into any needed changes in how the Police department operates,” a portion of the RFP’s objectives section reads.

Smith told the Herald he brought experts outside New England for a meeting to review the RFP and determine whether the team would submit a bid. The nine-member crew, including retired police chiefs, a lawyer, a college professor in Criminal Justice, and the director of a state-wide evidence lab program, unanimously voted not to.

“There’s no more qualified team that was going to put in for it than we were,” he said.

Police Audit Committee member Kathleen Howley spearheaded the petition that led to a special Town Meeting last November when residents voted 903-800 in favor of the $200,000 audit.

“If we have a bid that comes in excess of the money availability, we cannot sign a contract. It’s a dead issue,” Chairman Bob McCarthy said at a meeting last week when the committee clashed amongst itself and residents who attended.

“The meeting revealed a lack of leadership, professionalism, and strategic direction, reinforcing our decision to withdraw,” Smith said in a Facebook post over the weekend.