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Law Enforcement Accreditation
The Springfield Police Department originally became accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) in 1997 and in 2019 SPD was awarded international accreditation for the eighth time. SPD is required to apply for re-accreditation and submit to a review process every four years in order to maintain accredited status.
CALEA accreditations follow a multi-year self-assessment phase and a meticulous site-based assessment of community engagement, policy, procedures, equipment and facilities by CALEA assessors. Each agency being reviewed goes before CALEA’s 21-member Board of Commissioners where the commission reviews all findings and determines the agencies’ accreditation status. In 2019 SPD was also recognized with the Meritorious Award for having been accredited by CALEA for 15 or more continuous years.
The purpose of the Commission is to develop standards based on international best practices in public safety and to establish and administer the accreditation process. The accreditation process is how a public safety agency voluntarily demonstrates how it meets professionally recognized criteria for excellence in management and service delivery. SPD is committed to this voluntary accreditation process and to CALEA, the only national organization available that provides such certification and oversight into the standards, policies, procedures, and operations of police agencies.
CALEA Public Comment Portal
The purpose of this public portal is to receive comments regarding an agency's compliance with CALEA standards, engagement in the service community, delivery of public safety services, and overall candidacy for accredited status. These comments can be in the form of commendations or concerns. The overall intent of the accreditation process is to provide the participating agency with information to support continuous improvement, as well as foster the pursuit of professional excellence.
IMPORTANT: CALEA is not an investigatory body and subsequently, the public portal should not be used to submit information for such purposes. Additionally, there will be no response other than acknowledgement of submissions; however, the information will be considered in context to its relevancy to compliance with standards and the tenets of CALEA Accreditation.