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Accreditation WorksCase Number 43
The Park Police have become more than just accredited; we have incorporated the CALEA process and philosophy in our day-to-day operations. We are constantly in ‘self assessment’. After a major event, critical incident or special detail, we complete an after-action report. We are continuously searching for ways to manage the incident or event more efficiently and effectively the next time. As we assess our delivery of services, some of the considerations we examine are staffing, equipment, the notification process, training, response time, media issues, associated costs, and inter-agency cooperation. We check to ensure that generated proofs of compliance are forwarded to the proper file. (This reduces the need for last minute file maintenance prior to the next on-site). We not only track and analyze this information for CALEA compliance purposes, we find it is also useful information when determining patterns and trends, the cost of future permits, reimbursable accounts (charge-backs), and justification for budget requests. These reports are not written just for the sake of generating paperwork; they are useful, multi-purpose management tools.
Being in close proximity to our nation’s capital, the Maryland-National Capital Park Police has become involved in several recent multi-jurisdictional actions/issues, such as the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, the Beltway Sniper Incident, and several World Trade Organization protests. Our Incident Command Center was up and running during each occurrence, however our support varied depending on the incident. We provided a cadaver K9 for search and recovery efforts at the Pentagon and foot and horse mounted officers for crowd control during the WTO protests. During the Sniper Incident, we opened up our headquarters to facilitate multi-agency briefings, creating an increased demand on our resources. We found it imperative that Memorandums of Understanding with other agencies be current, and that equipment is inspected and readily available. Prior multi-agency training, including topics such as mock disasters, school safety, and bio-terrorist attacks, proved invaluable.
The CALEA process has been a significant help in preparing us to meet unexpected challenges, and our constant self-assessment attitude permits us to continually improve. The Maryland-National Capital Park Police, Montgomery County Division, has validated in policy and practice that CALEA is an every-day philosophy, and not just a once every three-years event.
Elizabeth A. Kreiter, Chief of PoliceMaryland-National Capital Park Police, Montgomery County Division
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