Lexington Police Up for Re-Accreditation

Lexington Police Chief Terrence Green announced Monday that a team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), will arrive Nov. 14, to examine all aspects of the Town of Lexington Police Department policy and procedures, management, operations, and support services.

Verification by the team that the Lexington 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, he said.

As part of the on-site assessment, agency employees and members of the community are invited to offer comments at a public information session Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011 at 7 p.m. The session will be conducted in the Eli Mack Room of the Lexington Municipal Complex located at 111 Maiden Lane in Lexington.

If for some reason an individual cannot attend the public information session but would still like to provide comments to the assessment team, they may do so by telephone. The public may call (803) 358-7263 onWednesday, Nov. 16, 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. A copy of the Standards is available for viewing at the Lexington Police Department by contacting Lt. Carroll Bledsoe, Accreditation Manager, at (803) 359-6260.

Persons wishing to offer written comments about the Lexington Police Department’s ability to meet the CALEA Law Enforcement standards for accreditation are requested to write to: Commission on Accreditationfor Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) 13575 Heathcote Blvd. Suite 320 Gainesville, Va. 20155, or via email at: calea@calea.org.

"The Town of Lexington Police Department must comply with approximately 362 standards in order to gain accredited status. Accreditation standards provide the Police Department with a modern management tool necessary to ensure that all our policies and procedures conform to the most up-to-date professional law enforcement standards," Green said.

"By Lexington Police Department voluntarily choosing to seek this higher standard of CALEA accreditation, the community can expect and receive a consistently better level of service and accountability from our department," he added.

The CALEA Program Manager for the Lexington Police Department is Maya Mitchell. Mitchell said the assessment team is composed of public safety practitioners from similar out-of-state agencies. The assessors will review written materials, interview individuals, and visit offices and otherlocations where compliance can be witnessed.

Once the CALEA Assessors complete their review of the agency, they report back to the full Commission, which will then decide if the agency is to be granted accredited status, Program Manager Mitchell stated.

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.