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3/5/03 COMMISSION ON
ACCREDITATION FOR LAW
MARCH 2003
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Police Accreditation Coalition will host the annual CALEA® (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.), Spring Conference March 19-22, 2003, at the Hyatt Orlando in Kissimmee, Florida.
Approximately 1,000 attendees from law enforcement and other public safety agencies throughout the United States and Canada are expected to attend. The Commission will review and vote on candidate agencies for accreditation and recognition. Attendees can also take advantage of numerous valuable training workshops dealing with law enforcement/public safety issues. The culmination of the conference is the awards celebration banquet Saturday evening, March 22.
The Commission was established as an independent accrediting authority in 1979 by the four major law enforcement executive associations, which represent about 80 percent of the United States law enforcement profession. They are the International Association of Chiefs of Police; the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives; the National Sheriffs’ Association; and the Police Executive Research Forum, all of which continue to serve in an advisory capacity. The Commission has 21 members – 11 of whom are law enforcement officials and 10 from the public and private sectors. Three of CALEA’s current Commissioners reside in Florida: James T. Moore, Commissioner, Florida Department of Law Enforcement; John D. Glover, Vice President of Corporate Security (Retired); and Eduardo Gonzalez, Director of U.S. Marshals (Retired).
The Commission was established for two reasons: 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. Over the years, programs have been added to accommodate other types of agencies. In January 1999, The Public Safety Communications Accreditation Program for Public Safety Communications centers was offered, followed by the Recognition Program, which is tailored for smaller law enforcement agencies; and an Alliance Program that establishes a formal working relationship between CALEA and state/province credentialing organizations. Also, effective July 2001 CALEA launched the Public Safety Training Academy Accreditation Program. Over 1,700 agencies are in the CALEA process in one stage or another with more than 562 in the United States, Canada, and Barbados having the honor of being accredited or recognized. In the United States, this represents approximately 24 percent of all full-time state or local law enforcement officers.
Florida currently has 83 agencies in the CALEA process with 61 in the accreditation process and 20 in the Recognition Program. In addition, the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation, Inc. is aligned with the Commission through CALEA’s Alliance Program.
More information regarding the Spring Conference and the Commission can be accessed from the web site www.calea.org or by telephone at 1-800-368-3757.
Sylvester Daughtry, Jr. - Executive Director – CalEA
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