COMMISSION ON ACCREDITATION FOR LAW   ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, INC. 

NEWS RELEASE

May 20, 2002

The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Chief of Police Mary Ann Viverette, Gaithersburg, Maryland Police Department to fill the unexpired term of past Commission Chairperson Stephen Monier. The appointment is effective immediately. Her department has been accredited since 1993.

CALEA was established as an independent accrediting authority in 1979 by the four major law enforcement executive associations: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP); National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE); National Sheriffs' Association (NSA); and Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). The Executive Directors of these four associations appoint members to the Commission annually.  The Commission has 21 members; 11 members are law enforcement practitioners; the remaining 10 members are from the public and private sectors.  The position is voluntary with Commissioners appointed to a term of three years.  The Commission meets three times each year.

CALEA’s purpose and mission is two-fold.  First, to establish a body of standards designed to (a) increase public safety agency capabilities to prevent and control crime; (b) increase agency effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of public safety services; (c) increase cooperation and coordination with other public safety agencies; and (d) increase citizen and employee confidence in the goals, objectives, policies, and practices of the public safety agency. Second, to establish and administer a series of accreditation and recognition programs through which public safety agencies can demonstrate voluntarily that they meet an estab­lished set of professionally recognized criteria for excellence in management and service delivery.

Chief Viverette has been with the Gaithersburg Police since 1979, holding all ranks until her appointment as Chief of Police in 1986.  Chief Viverette holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Law Enforcement/ Criminology and a Masters Degree in Human Resource Management, both from the University of Maryland. She also graduated from the FBI National Academy, Session 155, in 1988.

Chief Viverette is currently the 4^th Vice President on the Board of Officers of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).  In 1996, Chief Viverette was a founding member and is a Vice-President of the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives. She has been a member of the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association since her appointment in 1986 and serves on the Maryland Chiefs’ Executive and Training Committees.  In 1995, the Gaithersburg Police Department received the US Conference of Mayor’s Livability Award for its Community Policing efforts citywide.

Chief Viverette is an active Assessor and Team Leader with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and served on two Standards Review Committees to streamline the accreditation process.   She is also a current member of CALEA’s ad hoc Sub-Committee on Law Enforcement Performance Measurement.

We congratulate and welcome Chief Viverette to the Commission.

Source: Sylvester Daughtry Jr., Executive Director, CALEA, Fairfax, VA - (800) 368-3757 X31

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