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The Huntersville Police Department received its initial Law Enforcement Accreditation Award from CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Incorporated) on July 26, 2008, at the CALEA Conference in Boca Raton, Florida. CALEA Accreditation is an international award recognizing professional excellence in law enforcement. This is the first law enforcement accreditation award for the agency.
CALEA began in 1979 to improve the delivery of law enforcement services by offering a body of standards, developed by law enforcement practitioners, covering a wide range of up-to-date law enforcement standards as an attempt to raise professionalism in law enforcement. The accreditation program is a voluntary program administered by CALEA. The Huntersville Police Department decided to officially take part in this program beginning in July 2006.
To receive this accredited status the Huntersville Police Department went through a rigorous four day, on-site assessment process in April 2008, to demonstrate that the agency met the professionally recognized criteria for excellence in management and service delivery. The Department was required to comply with 459 law enforcement standards to obtain this accreditation.
A team of three assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Incorporated (CALEA), examined all aspects of the Huntersville Police Department policy and procedures, management, operations, and support services. Verification by the team that the Huntersville Police Department met the Commission’s state of the art standards was part of the voluntary process to gain accreditation - a highly prized recognition of public safety professional excellence. The assessment team reported to the CALEA Commission that the Huntersville Police Department is in compliance with all applicable standards and it is the “…..recommendation of the team that the agency receive positive consideration for initial accreditation at the next commission meeting.”
On Saturday, July 26, 2008, the Huntersville Police Department participated in a hearing regarding their accreditation assessment and the full Commission approved the accreditation of the Huntersville Police Department on that same date.
Huntersville Police Chief Philip K. Potter states: “The CALEA Accreditation process has provided the Department with a blueprint to continuously improve our delivery of police services, as well as the effective and efficient use of resources entrusted in the Department. I am looking forward to continuing our pursuit of excellence and best practices, which is exemplified through the CALEA process and our agency goal to continuously improve. This process also serves as an outside independent review of the policy and practices of the agency for the Town government and community we serve.”
To maintain accredited status, the Huntersville Police Department must continue to comply with all applicable standards. The agency submits annual reports to the Commission attesting to continued compliance and reporting changes or difficulties experienced during the year. At the conclusion of a three year period, the Commission offers the agency an opportunity to repeat the process and to continue accredited status in the future through another on-site assessment.
For more information on CALEA visit: www.calea.org/
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