Jane O’Donnell, Administrative Assistant

You may have met her at one of CALEA’s conferences, working at the registration table or selling CALEA’s product line. You may have called our office and spoken with her about your certificate or registration at a conference workshop. Her name is Jane O’Donnell and she is one of our dedicated Administrative Assistants.

Jane grew up in a small western Pennsylvania town that had the distinction of being featured in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not because the town name spelled backward (Colver), was the town next door (Revloc). From her youth, Jane would visit the northern Virginia area and developed an affinity for the Virginia countryside.

After graduating from High School in Pennsylvania, Jane landed a job with the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington, D.C. Shortly thereafter, she married a Fairfax City Police Officer, Bill O’Donnell and within two years had started a family.

Jane has a diverse background as a secretary working for a doctor, a church, and the State of Virgina Probation & Parole. It was while working for Probation & Parole that Jane said she began to understand how our judicial system deals with those who violate the law. This background certainly makes her an asset to the CALEA staff.

The O’Donnell family has remained committed to criminal justice over the years. Husband Bill just retired with 30 years in law enforcement; son Patrick is a deputy sheriff, and daughter, Andrea, is a Deputy Clerk of the Court. Jane says "Accreditation is important because the standards provide a plumbline for law enforcement agencies to line up with."

She also says, "I believe that when there is integrity within the ranks of a law enforcement agency the service delivered to the citizens will be greater than within agencies that do not adhere to standards. Police are under more scrutiny than they have ever been and they need tools to deal more effectively with daily operations."