The Fairfield Glade Police Department was awarded national accreditation on Nov. 11 by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. in the law enforcement program.
The agency was first accredited in 2019.
“This award of accreditation does not come easy,” said CALEA President Marcus Brown. “Agencies must go through a rigorous review and evaluation of their organization and then implement the necessary policy and procedure changes. The process does not stop at that point.”
Following a multi-year self-assessment phase and a meticulous site-based assessment of community engagement, policy, procedures, equipment and facilities by CALEA assessors, Fairfield Glade Chief Katelyn Self and Lt. James Dagley attended the CALEA conference in Bellevue, WA.
Each agency being reviewed goes before CALEA’s 21-member board of commissioners, which reviews all findings and determines the agencies’ accreditation status.
During the celebration banquet, CALEA President Marcus Brown and Executive Director Craig Hartley awarded Fairfield Glade Police Department with accreditation, signifying excellence in public safety and commitment to the community.
This is the agency’s second award of national accreditation.
This process could not be successful without the continuous hard work of the Fairfield Glade Police Department team who all share the driven mission to provide professional police services to the community. The success in maintaining this high achievement should provide public confidence in the department.
In 1979, the Commission was created through the combined efforts of four major law enforcement organizations: the International Association of Chiefs of Police, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, National Sheriffs’ Association and the Police Executive Research Forum.
The purpose of the Commission is to develop standards based on international best practices in public safety, and to establish and administer the accreditation process.
The accreditation process is how a public safety agency voluntarily demonstrates how it meets professionally recognized criteria for excellence in management and service delivery.
“By voluntarily choosing to seek CALEA accreditation, the agency commits to an ongoing review of adherence to CALEA’s standards,” Brown said.
“Each community with CALEA accredited agencies should be feel confident that their public safety organization is going above and beyond and operating under the highest standards in public safety.