In your quest to find the right law enforcement agency, you may have noticed the seal at right or the phrase “CALEA-Accredited” on the agency’s website. What does that mean for you as a prospective applicant?
According to CALEA Deputy Director Craig Hartley, “it means you’re applying to one of the best law enforcement agencies in the country — one that has made a commitment to the pursuit of excellence in management and service delivery.”
What is CALEA?
CALEA, which stands for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, is the international authority on law enforcement standards. The Commission offers several prestigious credentialing programs for public safety agencies, including Law Enforcement, Public Safety Communications and Public Safety Training Academy Accreditation.
What is Law Enforcement Accreditation?
CALEA Law Enforcement Accreditation is a voluntary program open to all types of law enforcement agencies.
Accreditation involves the systematic review of an agency’s policies and procedures against CALEA’s internationally accepted Standards for Law Enforcement Agencies©.
CALEA has 464 standards that touch nearly every facet of law enforcement, from operations and management to emergency preparedness and community relations.
These standards reflect the current thinking and experience of law enforcement practitioners and researchers, and are considered benchmarks for modern law enforcement agencies.
There are currently over 800 law enforcement agencies enrolled in the CALEA Law Enforcement Accreditation Program and over 600 law enforcement agencies in the U.S. are accredited.
What if an agency isn’t accredited?
While CALEA accreditation can be considered as a positive, an agency’s lack of accreditation should not necessarily be viewed as a negative.
Accreditation is a big commitment for an agency. It is a lengthy process requiring considerable staff time and resources that some agencies aren’t able to undertake. Additionally, some agencies may opt to obtain accreditation from the state rather than international accreditation through CALEA.
Nonetheless, CALEA accreditation is something to consider when looking for the agency that suits you best. For more information on CALEA, or to find a list of accredited agencies, visit www.calea.org.
NOTE: The International Association of Chiefs of Police, which owns and operates this blog, is among the four founding associations of CALEA along with NOBLE, NSA, and PERF.
