November 13, 2020
The Richmond Police Department
received its fourth Advanced GOLD Standard Reaccreditation from the Commission
on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) on Thursday,
November 12. The accreditation period pertains to the timeframe of April 2016
to April 2020.
“The CALEA Gold Standard Reaccreditation with Excellence Award recognizes the hard work of the members of the Richmond Police Department and their commitment to public safety,” said Chief Gerald Smith. “Accreditation ensures the department has consistent policies, formalizes management practices, and provides accountability through checks and balances through all levels of the agency.”
CALEA accreditation signifies that an agency has met specific standards of excellence. The Richmond Police Department had to demonstrate compliance with close to 500 standards to earn re-accreditation status. A team of CALEA assessors from around the country visited Richmond this past March. They interviewed Department personnel, citizen police academy graduates, retired officers, city directors, Richmond residents and other mutual agreement partners. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the assessors were unable to hold a public forum, but still received feedback from the public. The use of technology was expanded to include remote work capabilities. Agency leadership communicated frequently to address any department concerns, responses and protocols.
For
more information about CALEA, visit www.calea.org.
Pictured:
Chief Gerald Smith, Operations Manager Daryl Jones, Deputy Director Victoria
Pearson, and Sgt. Doran Broadnax. All four attended the virtual CALEA
conference this week as the Commissioners conducted a review of the Department.
