Lemont Police Department Wants Public's Feedback for Accreditation Process

Lemont Police Chief Marc Maton is proud to announce that a team of Assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc, (CALEA), will arrive on January 12, 2015 to examine all aspects of the Lemont Police Department’s policy and procedures, management, operations, and administrative services.

Verification by the team that the Lemont Police Department meets the Commission’s state-of-the-art standards is part of a voluntary process to gain accreditation­­, a highly prized recognition of public safety professional excellence.

As part of the on-site assessment, members of the community are invited to offer comments at a public information session at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, January 12. The session will be conducted in Room 100 of Lemont Village Hall, 418 Main Street.

If for some reason an individual cannot speak at the public information session but would still like to provide comments to the assessment team, he/she may do so by telephone. The public may call 630-816-2655 on Tuesday, January 13th, 2015 between the hours of 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Telephone comments as well as appearances at the public information session are limited to 10 minutes and must address the agency’s ability to comply with CALEA Standards. Arrangements may be made to view any of the standards at the Police Department by contacting the Accreditation Manager, Bob Dahlberg at (630) 257-2229.

Persons desiring to offer written comments about the Lemont Police Department’s ability to meet the standards for accreditation are requested to write: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, Inc. (CALEA), 13575 Heathcote Blvd, Suite 320, Gainsville, Virginia, 20155.

The Lemont Police Department is complying with over 400 standards in order to gain accredited status. These standards represent the best practices in professional law enforcement from departments nationwide.

The assessment team is composed of law enforcement practitioners from similar, but out-of-state agencies. The assessors will review written materials, interview individuals, and visit offices and other places where compliance can be witnessed.

The assessors are from the states of North Carolina and New Mexico.

Once the two assessors complete their review of the Department, they report back to the full Commission, which will then decide if the department is to be granted re-accredited status at its next conference in March of 2015.

Accreditation is for three years, during which the agency must submit annual reports attesting continued compliance with those standards under which it was initially accredited. This will be the Department’s fifth accreditation, the first being in March of 2002.

For more information regarding the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., please write the Commission at 13575 Heathcote Blvd, Suite 320, Gainesville, Virginia, 20155; or call (703) 352-4225. The Commission can also be found on the Internet at www.calea.org.