CALEA Agency Support Program (CASP)
The purpose of the CALEA® Agency Support Program (CASP) is to support the professional development of under-funded law enforcement agencies, public safety communications centers, public safety training academies, and campus security organizations by offering support to qualified agencies seeking accreditation for the first time. Read More
Cotter Award
The James V. Cotter Award is for Chief Executive Officers who have successfully brought three or more new law enforcement agencies into CALEA Accredited status.
Jim Cotter, who came to CALEA in 1980 as the first Executive Director, is credited with having the foresight and diplomatic skills to form the coalitions that developed the standards, bylaws, and procedures that evolved into the current Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. Mr. Cotter died in December 2008.
CALEA congratulates and appreciates award recipients for their hard work and dedication to professionalism in law enforcement.
Egon Bittner Award
The Egon Bittner Award is presented to Chief Executive Officers who have commanded a CALEA Accredited agency for fifteen or more continuous years. It was created to recognize these leaders for their significant contributions to the public safety profession and to CALEA.
Professor Egon Bittner greatly contributed to CALEA’s early development in 1979-80, and was a CALEA Commissioner from 1981, during the critical developmental stage of the organization, through 1988.
Dr. Bittner brought wisdom and expertise to CALEA’s deliberations. He was Professor of Sociology at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, with a national standing on law enforcement issues. He retired from Brandeis in 1991 and then moved with his wife, Jean, to the California Bay Area. He died there on May 7, 2011.
President's Award
President’s Award was developed to recognize select individuals and/or organizations for their continuing support of CALEA accreditation as a professional institution in the field of public safety.
This award will be used to recognize those individuals or entities that have made significant contributions to the advancement of accreditation across the public safety profession.
Meritorious Award
CALEA accredited agencies are recognized for having been accredited for 15 or more continuous years. These agencies receive an enhanced Certificate of Meritorious Accreditation, displaying a blue “Meritorious” ribbon and an inscription proclaiming their 15 or more years of accredited status.
Excellence Award
Agencies seeking Excellence must be awarded before December 31, 2025. Accreditation with Excellence will not be awarded after this date.
The intent of the CALEA® Accreditation with Excellence Award is to provide agencies an opportunity to be further recognized for the effective use of accreditation as a model for the delivery of enhanced public safety services and management professionalism, including:
- Progressive community engagement strategies
- Data as a structured tool for business decisions
- Repeated and progressive use of accreditation model for outcomes management and benchmarking
- Leadership status among peer agencies as an accredited organization
The Excellence Award will be determined by the Commission and will be announced at the CALEA Conference.
CALEA Tri Arc Award
The CALEA TRI-ARC Award is given to the governing body (or bodies) and agencies that have concurrent CALEA accreditation for their law enforcement, public safety communications and public safety training agencies.
The award name was selected to reflect the three accreditation programs ("TRI") and symbolize the synergistic power and light created as the result of an unusual achievement ("ARC").