Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) Reaccredidation

HPD CALEA Advanced Reaccreditation Award

The Huntersville Police Department received Advanced Law Enforcement Reaccreditation Award from CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.) on July 26, 2017 at the CALEA Conference in Providence, Rhode Island. CALEA Accreditation is an international award recognizing professional excellence in law enforcement and is considered the “Gold Standard in Public Safety.” This is the fourth law enforcement full 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.

Criteria for Award

To receive this accredited status the Huntersville Police Department went through a rigorous three day, on-site assessment process in June 2014, 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 two 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.”

Commission Approval

The Huntersville Police Department on Saturday, November 22, 2014, participated in a hearing regarding their accreditation assessment and the full Commission approved the accreditation of the Huntersville Police Department on that same date.

Maintaining Status

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 a 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.

Benefits of Award

CALEA accreditation benefits law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve through a management tool that promotes greater accountability within the agency, reduced risk and liability exposure, stronger defense against lawsuits, support from local government officials and in increased community advocacy.

CALEA Law Enforcement Accreditation Public Comment Portal

The Huntersville Police Department participates in the CALEA Law Enforcement Accreditation process. As a part of this process, we provide an opportunity for public feedback via the CALEA Portal located here:  http://cimrs2.calea.org/562. The purpose of this public portal is to receive comments regarding our compliance with CALEA standards, engagement with the community, delivery of public safety services, and overall candidacy for accredited status. These comments can be in the form of commendations or concerns. The overall intent of the accreditation process is to provide our agency with information to support continuous improvement, as well as foster our pursuit of professional excellence. 

It is important to know that CALEA is not an investigatory body and subsequently the public portal should not be used to submit information for such purposes. Additionally, there will be no response other than acknowledgment to submissions; however, the information will be considered in context to its relevancy to compliance with standards and the tenets of CALEA® Accreditation. Standard titles may be viewed on the CALEA website: Law Enforcement - Standards Titles | CALEA® | The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. The level of accreditation the Huntersville Police Department participates in includes only those applicable standards that are in bold. Questions related to the accreditation process may be directed to the Accreditation Manager. 

Comments posted will be routed to the Regional Program Manager at the end of each week and shared back with the agency (probably the CEO) as well as filed for the Compliance Services Manager and CALEA Assessor to access and review prior to upcoming web-based and site-based assessments. The Huntersville Police Department’s next web-based assessment is scheduled for August 2023.