Assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) will review the Howard County Police Department next week to examine all aspects of police policy, procedures, management, operations and support services. As part of the assessment, which occurs every four years, members of the community are invited to offer comments in a variety of ways.
The police department must comply with more than 400 standards in order to gain re-accreditation status, a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence.
“The Howard County Police Department has been nationally accredited since 1990 and I am proud that we regularly exceed the stringent national standards required to receive re-accreditation,” said Police Chief Gregory Der. “I’m looking forward to another successful, transparent review of all aspects of our agency.”
A public information session will be conducted on Tuesday, April 12 from 2 to 4 p.m. The session will be conducted virtually; anyone wishing to give testimony must pre-register using the following link (https://bit.ly/HCPDCALEAsession), at least two hours prior to the Public Hearing. Members of the public who cannot be present at the public information session, but would like to provide comments to the assessment team may call 410-313-3259 on April 11 between 2 and 4 p.m. Comments will be taken directly by the Assessment Team.
The assessment team is comprised of law enforcement practitioners from similar agencies in other states. The assessors will review extensive materials as well as interview agency personnel and external individuals to confirm compliance with all CALEA standards. The assessors are Major Paul Baggett of the Polk County (FL) Sheriff's Office, who is the team leader, and Inspector Daniel Isgett of the Berkeley County (SC) Sheriff’s Office.
Once the Commission’s Assessors complete their review of the Howard County Police Department, they will report back to the full Commission, which then decides if the agency is to be granted re-accreditation status. Certification covers four years, during which the agency must submit annual reports and undergo annual reviews demonstrate continued compliance with all required standards.
Telephone comments and appearances at the public information session are generally limited to five minutes and must address the Howard County Police Department’s ability to comply with CALEA’s standards. The standards may be reviewed at police headquarters. The local HCPD contact is Tami Bulla, who can be reached at 410-313-3229 or by e-mail to tbulla@howardcountymd.gov.
Anyone wishing to offer written comments about the Howard County Police Department’s ability to meet the standards for Accreditation may write to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, Inc. (CALEA), 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320 Gainesville, Va., 20155. Written comments may also be submitted by email to calea@calea.org, with “Howard County Police” in the subject line.
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