As part of the Dalton Police Department’s bid for accreditation from CALEA (the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.) a public forum will be held at Dalton City Hall on April 8, at 6 p.m. The purpose of the forum will be for agency members and also members of the public to have an opportunity to comment on the operations of the Dalton Police Department.
The public forum is part of an on-site inspection of the Dalton Police Department by a team of CALEA assessors who will be working to verify that the DPD meets the Commission’s state-of-the-art standards. The CALEA assessors will be conducting their review April 7-10. Comments from the public will be considered by the CALEA team as they review the agency’s operations.
If any individual is unable to attend this meeting but would still like to offer comments to the assessment team, comments can also be made by telephone. The public can call 706 278-9085, ext. 503, on April 8, between 1 and 3 p.m. Written comments may also be made by mail to: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320, Gainesville, Va. 20155.
CALEA is an internationally recognized benchmark for professionalism in modern law enforcement agencies. The organization’s goals are to strengthen an agency’s crime prevention abilities, formalize management procedures, improve service delivery, solidify interagency cooperation, and increase community confidence in the agency. Currently, six percent of law enforcement agencies in the United States are CALEA accredited.
The Dalton Police Department has been working toward CALEA accreditation since August 2010 when the agency enrolled in the program and started a self-assessment process. In the two and a half years since, the agency’s standards and policies have been rigorously reviewed and adapted for compliance with more than 480 professional standards mandated by CALEA. The on-site review is the DPD’s final step towards accreditation. Assessors will review written materials, interview individuals, and also ride along with officers and visit offices and other areas where compliance can be witnessed.
The Dalton Police Department’s CALEA Program Manager is Officer Brian Shirley. The assessors visiting Dalton will be Chief Phillip Potter from the Huntersville (North Carolina) Police Department and Frances Moore from the Greenville (South Carolina) Police Department.
Accreditation is for three years, during which the agency will submit annual reports attesting continued compliance with CALEA standards.
For more information on CALEA, email calea@calea.org or call 703 352-4225.