East Haven Police Department Awarded Highest Accreditation

EAST HAVEN, CT - TheEast Haven Police Department has achieved national Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) accreditation.

CALEA, the Gold Standard of Policing is a nationally recognized accreditation organization that ensures best practices and continuous self-evaluation of police agencies across the nation.

Only 5% of police agencies nationally and approximately 20% of police agencies in the state of Connecticut have been accredited by CALEA, which is why the men and women of the East Haven Police Department are so proud of achieving this milestone.

As part of the process, the EHPD underwent a three-day onsite assessment to ensure compliance with the accreditation standards set forth by CALEA. A team of CALEA’s assessors conducted the onsite assessment at police headquarters from October 22 – 24, 2018. The assessment team was composed of public safety and law enforcement practitioners from out- of-state agencies who are trained and well versed in CALEA’s standards.

As a part of the onsite assessment, a public information session was held with the assessment team on October 23, 2018, at the EHPD. Personnel of the EHPD and members of the community were invited to attend to offer comments regarding the EHPD’s ability to comply with CALEA’s standards.

“This is a great achievement for all the men and women of the EHPD. I am proud to be surrounded by hardworking professionals as we work to serve our community and make it better," said Chief Ed Lennon. "Becoming accredited through CALEA was a natural transition for the EHPD as we exited the stringent US Department of Justice Consent Decree. Accreditation assures the public that we hold ourselves accountable to a national standard of the best policing practices, that we continually reassess our practices, and that we are evaluated by an independent external body.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to extend a special thank you to Mayor (Joseph) Maturo and his staff for their steadfast support with this endeavor, along with all the men and women of the Department, for their diligent work throughout this stringent process. The support of the Administration and the Community has been overwhelming.”

Maturo said: “I would like to thank the Chief and his staff that have worked on this accreditation project over the last three years. They have done a yeoman’s job, in transforming our police department into a model agency. The Chief and his staff, have attended many conferences in different states to highlight the transformation and accomplishments of the EHPD and have shared our experiences with other agencies. It has been an honor and a privilege to work with the
and the women of the EHPD over the last eight years beginning with the consent decree and continuing with this dramatic transformation to a nationally accredited organization. East Haven is truly proud of the hard work of the EHPD.”

An overview of CALEA and the standards can be found on CALEA’s website at http://www.calea.org/