Accreditation
The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), was established as an independent accrediting authority in 1979 for two reasons: to develop a set of law enforcement standards; and to establish and administer an accreditation process through which law enforcement agencies could demonstrate voluntarily that they meet professionally-recognized criteria for excellence in management and service delivery. The benefits of being accredited include the following:
- Greater accountability with the agency
- Staunch support from government officials
- Increased community advocacy
- Stronger defense against lawsuits and citizen complaints
- Controlled liability insurance costs
- Improved employee morale
In order to become an accredited law enforcement agency, CALEA has drafted 459 standards for agencies to meet. These standards address six major law enforcement subjects:
- Role, responsibilities, and relationships with other agencies
- Organization, management, and administration
- Personnel administration
- Law enforcement operations, operational support, and traffic law enforcement
- Detainee and court-related activities
- Auxiliary and technical services
Agencies that seek accreditation are required to comply only with those standards that are specifically applicable to them. These standards prescribe "what" agencies should be doing but not "how" they should be doing it. That decision is left up to the individual agency and its Chief Executive Officer.
Captain David Dukes is our Accreditation Manager and can be reached at ddukes@cookeville-tn.org. Our next on-site inspection for the re-accreditation process will be in 2009.
2004 Re-Accreditation
2007 Re-Accreditation
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