Mahwah Police Seek Re-Accreditation

MAHWAH, NJ — The Mahwah Police Department is scheduled for a virtual assessment, as part of a program to achieve re-accreditation by verifying it meets strict professional standards, the department announced.

Administered by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), the accreditation program requires agencies to comply with state-of-the-art standards in four basic areas: policy and procedures, administration, operations, and support services.

The Mahwah Police Department received its initial CALEA accreditation on March 22, 2003, and is currently seeking its sixth re-accreditation, the department said.

Agency employees and the public are invited to offer comments by calling 201-831-2087 between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Dec. 6. Comments will be taken by the Assessment Team.

As part of the assessment, agency employees and members of the community are also invited to offer comments at a public information session on Dec. 7 at 5 to 7 p.m. The session will be conducted by Zoom. For the link, click here.

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's standards. A copy of the Standards is available at the Mahwah Police Department.

Anyone wishing to submit written comments about the Mahwah Police Department's ability to comply with the standards for accreditation may send them to: The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, Inc. (CALEA), 13575 Heathcote Blvd., Suite 320, Gainesville, Virginia, 20155 or www.calea.org.

What are the standards?

Golden, apparently.

According to the CALEA website, the set of standards put forth by the organization are the "gold standard in public safety."

The organization was created in 1979 as a "credentialing authority through the joint efforts of law enforcement's major executive associations."

In total there are 484 CALEA best practice standards. These standards are wide-ranging, covering topics such as bias, evidence collection, internal affairs and public information.

Within those categories — and more — the criteria delves deeper into specifics.
For example, there are 13 criteria that must be met under the use of force standards, which cover aspects of use of force including:

• The use of reasonable force
• Use of deadly force
• Warning shots
• Use of authorized less-lethal weapons
• Rendering aid after use of weapons
• Reporting uses of force
• Reviewing reported uses of force
• Removal from line of duty assignment relating to the use of force
• Authorization: weapons and ammunition
• Demonstrating proficiency with weapons
• Annual and biennial proficiency training
• Issuing written directives
• Analyzing reported uses of force

Mind you, this is just one subsection of the larger law enforcement role and authority standards, which also include regulations regarding limits to authority and agency defining language such as their code of ethics and oath of office.

Other standards to be reviewed include bias based profiling, command protocol, entry level training, grievance procedures and emotional stability and psychological fitness examinations.

The full list of standards can be found here: https://bit.ly/2E0yNvb