State Programs Report

Commissioner Monier

This is the second in a series of articles reporting on the activities of the State Programs Committee.

At the Denver, CO (March 1998) Commission meeting, CALEA Commissioners established a task force, chaired by Commissioner Steve Monier, to explore the possibility of some type of agreement with interested state accreditation programs. The goal of any agreement would be the general enhancement of law enforcement services, particularly by smaller agencies, greater uniformity of standards, increased cooperation between CALEA and state programs, and the increased effectiveness of both programs.

Volunteers, representing state accreditation programs were selected based on their program, geography, and interest in participating. A thirty-nine-member task force, with three advisors, was assembled. The task force held its first meeting in Fairfax, Virginia, on June 4-5, 1999. Work assignments were distributed to each task force subcommittee according to the responsibilities of CALEA Commissioner’s three standing committees.

As the concept for an "Alliance" between CALEA and individual state programs began to take shape, the following concepts were tentatively agreed to:

1. Formation of an Alliance; mutual recognition of programs.
2. Alliance members to participate in future reviews of process & standards.
3. 96 Core standards identified (using "verbatim" wording).
4. CALEA to offer a two tiered program.
5. Exclusive use of assessors trained by CALEA.
6. CALEA & state would sign a written agreement addressing:

• Benefits,

• Core standards,

• Assessor training,
• Fees,
• Use of copyright materials, and

• CALEA certification/inspection of individual programs.

With this success, it was decided to reconvene the task force at the July Montreal CALEA meeting. Task force subcommittees reported the following at the end of the Montreal meeting:

Corporate refined several recognition and written agreement issues.

Outreach recommended new awards terminology and a four-level "recognition" process:

1. "CALEA Recognition", with only CALEA Core-standards used (lowest level.)
2. "State Accreditation," with no CALEA recognized Core-standards.
3. "State Accreditation with CALEA Recognition," A CALEA-State Alliance program + Core-standards.
4.   "CALEA Accreditation."

Standards Review & Interpretations:

1. Core-standards will use "verbatim" language;
2. A three year transition period for conversion to CALEA standards be allowed commencing with final approval of the Alliance; and
3. The continued review and comparison of CALEA/state standards.

The issue of using "verbatim" language for Core-standards was controversial and was resolved with the approval of the following motion:

"CALEA will use the ‘Intent’ method to determine compliance with all CALEA ‘Core-standards’ for all existing (viable) State Accreditation Programs, as defined and determined by CALEA, and require the ‘Verbatim’ method for all State Accreditation Programs that begin after the full Commission approves the recommendation."

Consensus was reached for formal presentation of the 96 Core-standards to the Standards Review and Interpretations Committee (SRIC). Commissioners accepted the Core-standards for preliminary approval at the Friday (July 30th) general business session of CALEA. This permits distribution of the Core standards for review and comment by interested individuals and groups. The Core-standards are on the CALEA website (clients only section). Persons interested in commenting on the Core-standard should do so promptly in order to have their in-put included in any discussions at the Atlanta Commission meeting.