CALEA® is dedicated to the improvement of public safety agencies and recognizes excellence through voluntary credentialing programs.

CALEA® encourages all public safety agencies to accept the challenge of international accreditation/recognition.

As this issue of the CALEA Update goes into production, the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is still unfolding. The Commission and staff extend our thoughts and prayers to everyone touched by this disaster. We offer a special message of support to all the public safety personnel in the Gulf Coast area who are “on the job” during this heart-wrenching tragedy, particularly for the men and women of the numerous agencies involved that are in the CALEA family.

Message from the Chair
 Jim O'Dell
In 1999, CALEA and representatives from several local law enforcement accreditation program providers established a committee to explore strategies for a cooperative relationship. This resulted in the formalization of a “CALEA Alliance” with Local Program Providers (LPP), the CALEA Recognition, and the Recognition Through Alliance (RTA) Programs. The CALEA Recognition and RTA Programs were designed as stepping-stones to CALEA Law Enforcement Accreditation^™ by permitting small agencies with limited resources to obtain an initial level of professional credentialing by meeting critical CALEA ‘Core Standards’. more

Accreditation and Civil Liability
Accreditation programs, such as the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA®) Law Enforcement Accreditation program, can potentially reduce law enforcement civil liability by making it difficult for plaintiffs to sustain their claim. The rationale that underlies such a premise is straightforward: the voluntary application of professionally developed standards fosters the implementation of what the private sector would call “best practices.” more

Three New Commissioners Appointed to CALEA Board
As this issue of the CALEA Update was going to print, the Commission Selection Committee announced the appointment of the following individuals to a three-year term, beginning January 1, 2006:  

• Chief Theron L. Bowman, Ph.D., Arlington (TX) Police Department

• Sheriff J. Grayson Robinson, Arapahoe County (CO) Sheriff's Office

• Chief Joseph M. Polisar, Garden Grove (CA) Police Department

We congratulate and welcome each of them to the Commission. A more complete announcement will appear in the next issue of the Update, February 2006.

Cotter Award Presented   
Retired Chief of Police Gary Leonard was honored with the presentation of the James V. Cotter Award at the CALEA Summer Conference in Boston, Massachusetts. This prestigious award recognizes Chief Executive Officers who have successfully brought three or more new agencies into CALEA Accredited status. more

Pennsylvania State Police Celebrates 100^th Anniversary  
The Pennsylvania State Police, the first uniformed police organization of its kind in the United States and CALEA’s largest accredited agency, marked its 100th Anniversary this past Spring with a series of events to celebrate the department’s storied past. The centennial activities commenced with a reception at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center for 450 persons on the evening of April 29, 2005, and continued with a service the following day at the Memorial Wall at the State Police Academy. The service honored the 90 members killed in the line of duty since the creation of the department on May 2, 1905. more

Boston, Massachusetts was the location of CALEA’s Summer 2005 Conference and marked the 77^th conference held by the Commission. With its wealth of history and vibrant city life, Boston is one of the world’s truly wonderful metropolitan areas. The conference hotel, the Boston Sheraton, was located right in the heart of the city. With Fenway Park, Faneuil Hall Market Place, and other historic sites only blocks away, attendees had a wealth of opportunities to sample all Boston had to offer. more

Click here for a list of agencies accredited, reaccredited, and recognized in Boston, Massachusetts.

Communications Open Channel
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International, Inc. is the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to the enhancement of public safety communications. APCO International serves the professional needs of its 14,000 members worldwide by creating a platform for setting professional standards, addressing professional issues, and providing education, products and services for people who manage, operate, maintain, and supply the communications systems used by police, fire, and emergency medical dispatch agencies throughout the world. more

CALEA Team Leader Gets a ‘Pat on the Back’
Wilmington, Delaware, resident and teacher, Marla Garris, was participating in the Citizen’s Police Academy offered by the Wilmington Police Department last April. One of the classes coincided with that agency’s third reaccreditation on-site assessment. After the on-site team leader, Assistant Chief Scott A. Cunningham of the Tampa (FL) Police Department addressed the class to explain the accreditation process, Garris asked Wilmington’s Accreditation Manager, Master Sergeant Allison Saunders, if she might speak with the team leader and ask for his assistance. more

WELCOME TO CALEA
Between May 1, 2005 and August 31, 2005, the following agencies joined the CALEA family by signing initial Agreements: more

It is recognized that the ability to share relevant information regarding criminal affairs in a timely manner is increasingly important. Within St. Louis County, Missouri, there are 91 different municipalities, many of which have their own police departments and investigative units. This number of investigative agencies grows dramatically when the surrounding counties in the St. Louis metropolitan region are taken into consideration. Criminals often operate across jurisdictional boundaries and many crimes continue to remain unsolved because of a lack of communication across those same jurisdictional boundaries. more

Draft of Fifth Edition Standards Accepted by Commission
At the July CALEA Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, the Standards Review and Interpretation Committee (SRIC) held its regular conference meeting before the full Commission on Friday afternoon to an audience of over 300 attendees. SRIC Chairperson, Commissioner Mary Ann Viverette, presented the first draft of the Fifth Edition of the Standards for Law Enforcement Agencies, the work product of the past two years by the Focus Group assembled to conduct a review of the CALEA Standards and Process. more

Your Commissioner -
Ted G. Kamatchus
Sheriff Ted Kamatchus began his law enforcement career in 1976 in rural Minnesota, working in various small communities while attending Mankato State University and majoring in police science. In 1980, he joined the Marshalltown, Iowa Police Department, where he served in various capacities including the patrol division, firearms instruction, hostage negotiations, and tactical squad. In 1988, he was appointed Sheriff of Marshall County, Iowa, and has been successfully re-elected to that post since then. more

"Accreditation Works" presents first-hand testimonies of how accreditation positively affects an agency or community. These success stories can often go unheralded, so send your experiences to CALEA to be included. more

Communications Center Security
When the need to provide a secure governmental facility is mentioned, one immediately thinks of a correctional institution. While this is certainly correct, similar thought must be given to the design and protection of those buildings housing public safety communications, as this function of government must function unimpeded under all foreseeable conditions. Today’s realities also deem that this security apply not only to the facilities themselves, but also to the data and systems involved in providing these critical communications. more

EXEMPLARY PROJECT
Virginia Beach 911 Telecommunicators Scholarship Program
In 1998, the Virginia Beach, Virginia, 911 Emergency Communications Division (VB911) sponsored the Tidewater Telecommunicators Banquet. This annual, regional event celebrates National Telecommunicators Week. Once the expenses for the week’s festivities and the banquet were paid, a small surplus of funds remained. Donations were made to the American Cancer Society and the Virginia Beach 911 Fitness Team, but the Virginia Beach 911 dispatchers wanted to reach out and establish a more permanent community-service undertaking. more

New — APPENDIX G
At the Boston Conference, July 29, 2005, the Commission approved three additions to the Standards Manuals (Appendix G – File Maintenance) relating to the following “process” issues: more

Certificates of Meritorious Accreditation Announced
Ten law enforcement agencies were recognized during the CALEA Conference Celebration Banquet in Boston, Massachusetts, for having been CALEA Accredited for 15 or more continuous years. These agencies receive an enhanced Certificate of Meritorious Accreditation, displaying a blue “Meritorious” ribbon and an inscription proclaiming their 15 or more years of accredited status.  more

CASF GRANT REMINDER
As a reminder to all perspective agencies seeking initial accreditation, applications for the 2006 grants from the CALEA Agency Support Fund (CASF) must be submitted between September 1 and December 31, 2005. Qualified law enforcement agencies, public safety communications agencies, as well as public safety training academies, with 50 or fewer full-time employees, are eligible to apply. more

CALEA FLAGSHIP AGENCY PROGRAM
Seven agencies were recognized at the Boston, Massachusetts, CALEA Conference under the new CALEA Flagship Agency program. The Flagship Agency program was introduced at the Winter 2004 Conference in Austin, Texas to acknowledge the achievement and expertise of some of the most successful CALEA Accredited public safety agencies, and also to provide “flagship examples” to assist other agencies. more