Case Number 32
The
Frederick County Sheriff’s Office has been proudly serving the citizens of
Frederick, Maryland since 1748. Since
the 1970’s, when the Patrol Division was first formed, the Frederick County
Sheriff’s Office has expanded to 120 sworn members, 150 corrections personnel,
and has added many specialty units.
As
a part of this tremendous growing process the agency has experienced in the last
25 years, both the Law Enforcement and Corrections Bureaus have been accredited.
In 1998,The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office became the thirteenth
Sheriff’s Office to receive the NSA Triple Crown Award and the first in
Maryland. There have been two major
benefits realized by the agency through achieving accreditation.
First,
funding agency expansion cannot always be accomplished as a part of the regular
budget process. Grant monies are
the best source for launching new programs that are not included in the approved
fiscal budget. During the fiscal
years 1999 and 2000, the Sheriff’s Office was awarded more than $1 million in
grant money. Accreditation has been
a key component when these grants are requested and is usually mentioned as a
justification for the funds.
The
second benefit to the Sheriff’s Office is through the staff inspection
process. For years, deputies have
been familiar with the line inspections conducted by their supervisors. However, the CALEA required staff inspection has enabled a
large-scale picture to be seen and a fitness report to be completed.
The staff inspections have been most helpful in identifying problems that
are encountered by the different units; and as a result, problems are addressed
and reviewed by the administration. The
staff inspection process is efficient because a third party is identifying the
problems, and it serves as a check and balance to ensure that necessary
functions are being performed.
The
fourth edition standards update and agency reorganization necessitated that the
policies and procedures manuals be updated.
Through this process, many other issues were addressed or corrected.
This update was a good opportunity to review the general orders and for
personnel to provide input to the changes.
The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office is proud to have achieved its
goal of becoming accredited and is now able to enjoy the benefits of this
prestigious accomplishment.
Sheriff James W. Hagy
Frederick County (MD) Sheriff’s Office
| 
