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What is a CALEA Assessor

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CALEA Assessors are contractual employees who follow the policies and procedures of the Commission in the delivery of accreditation assessment services.  CALEA Assessors must have the ability to evaluate public safety management policies, procedures, practices, and activities.  It is important for assessors to have a firm understanding of modern public safety personnel, administrative, legal, and operational concepts and be able to interact at a peer level with chief executives and other leadership staff from assessed agencies.  They must also comprehensively understand CALEA's Accreditation process and be familiar with standards.

While on assignment, CALEA Assessors must exemplify the highest levels of professionalism at all times and foster a non-adversarial review process.  The CALEA Philosophy concerning assessments is “accountability with reasonable assistance.”  As the “eyes and ears” of the Commission, assessors must maintain objectivity and report on the candidate agency’s ability to comply with the requisite number of applicable standards.

Assessor Qualifications

  1. A minimum of a baccalaureate degree or equivalent work experience and education.
  2. Five years of contemporary full-time public safety experience: 
    1. as a first-line supervisor or higher, or
    2. at a high-level administrative position that requires considerable use of professional discretion, or
    3. with five years of CALEA Accreditation experience.
  3. The ability to write high quality professional reports.
  4. The ability to apply analytical skills in the assessment of public safety operations.

Generally, CALEA uses assessors from other public safety agencies actively enrolled in the CALEA Accreditation Process.  However, there are positions available for government, academic, and private sector assessors who meet a special need for CALEA.  Past professional experience will be considered.

For every CALEA Accreditation on-site assessment, one assessor is designated as the team leader.  Team leaders must currently hold or previously have held a senior level executive or management position in a public safety agency.  Team leaders are selected from the assessor pool based on their performance, the recommendations of their past team leaders and assessed agencies, and a CALEA Staff review.  Team leader certification requires additional CALEA training, as well as maintaining an active assessor certificate.  Re-certification is required every three years for assessors and team leaders. 

For further information on CALEA Assessors, please contact the Commission.

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