The Richmond Police Department received its first Advanced
Law Enforcement program reaccreditation from the Commission on Accreditation
for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) on Saturday, Nov. 16.
“CALEA accreditation is a measuring stick that
professional law enforcement agencies use to compare themselves to one another
and to the expectations that the community has of its police departments and I
was proud to appear before the Commission’s panel on Saturday, answer their
questions and highlight this great City and the outstanding work that the men
and women of the Richmond Police Department perform day in and day out,” Police Chief Ray Tarasovic said.
“CALEA is the gold standard for law enforcement
accreditation and we have pledged to maintain CALEA’s professional standards as
part of our commitment to public safety in Richmond. Accreditation insures the
department has consistent policies, formalizes management practices and
provides for accountability through checks and balances at all levels of the
agency.”
Chief Tarasovic
accepted the award at the international organization’s fall conference in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with the department’s CALEA Manager Daryl Jones, Police Planning Director Brian Cummings,
Sgt. Kim Mooney and fellow CALEA team members Shanique Scott and Officers Paul Tuttle and Deadra Swilley.
The Richmond
Police Department is one of 26 law enforcement agencies in Virginia to have the
prestigious CALEA Law Enforcement Accreditation status and one of only 15
municipal law enforcement agencies to be so recognized. Along with the Virginia Beach Police
Department, Richmond Police is one of the two largest Virginia municipal law
enforcement agencies to be CALEA accredited.
The agency was first accredited in 2010.
Reaccreditation occurs every three years.
The Police
Department had to demonstrate compliance with close to 500 observable standards
to earn reaccreditation. A team of CALEA assessors from around the country
visited Richmond for a four-day period just this past July. They conducted
interviews with Department personnel, attended a display of the agency’s
specialized equipment and vehicles. They
inspected the Department’s facilities and vehicles during their visit. Both prior to and during the visit, the
assessors reviewed Department files to verify standards of compliance. In addition, the assessors met with the
Department’s law enforcement and community partners and attended a public
information and comment session at the Richmond Police Academy.
CALEA
was created in 1979 as a credentialing authority through the joint efforts of
law enforcement’s major executive associations - the International Association of Chiefs of Police, National
Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, National Sheriff’s
Association, and Police Executives Research Forum. The Commission was established to develop a
set of law enforcement standards, and to establish and administer an
accreditation process through which law enforcement agencies could demonstrate
voluntarily that they meet professionally recognized criteria for excellence in
management and service delivery.
For more
information about CALEA, visit www.calea.org.
