Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Invites Public Comment
An assessment team from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA®) will be conducting a virtual site-based assessment May 18-19, 2020 to examine all aspects of the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement Bureau’s policies and procedures, management, operations, and support services.
The team will verify that the FCSO meets the commission’s state-of-the-art standards as part of a voluntary process to gain accreditation – a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence. Accreditation is for four years, during which the agency must submit annual reports, and participate in annual remote web-based assessments attesting continuing compliance with those standards under which it was initially accredited. The FCSO has to comply with approximately 180 standards in order to gain and maintain accredited status.
Due to the restrictions in place because of the COVID-19 crisis, a contingency plan for assessment activities has been developed to perform the required activities remotely. As such, public comment will be accepted as stated below.
As part of the assessment, agency employees and members of the community are invited to offer comments to the CALEA Assessment Team by calling 703-468-0611 on Monday, May 18 from 2:00pm – 4:00pm. During those times, callers will be able to speak directly to one of the assessors. If you get a busy signal, please try calling again, or send an email to jcarmody@calea.org. Anyone wishing to speak to the assessors and is unable to call during these times is asked to email jcarmody@calea.org.
Telephone comments 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 Frederick County Sheriff’s Office. The local contact is Accreditation Manager Julia Gilroy, 301-600-1550.
Anyone wishing to submit written comments about the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office’s ability to comply with the standards for accreditation may send them to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA®), 13575 Heathcote Blvd, Suite 320, Gainesville, VA 20155 or email calea@calea.org.
