Law Enforcement Accreditation: One Department's Experience.

Law enforcement has become increasingly complex. Officers regularly deal with life and death issues and activities that involve the safety, security, or welfare of the citizens they serve. Moreover, many of these concerns leave officers and their agencies liable for their actions in use-of-force incidents, vehicular pursuits, arrests, searches and seizures, disciplinary actions, and more. These matters affect agencies of all sizes and types.

Despite the critical and complex nature of police work, the public has had a difficult time recognizing law enforcement as a profession, "a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intense academic preparation."(1) Accreditation represents perhaps the first step in establishing law enforcement as a profession.

BACKGROUND

Twenty years ago, the Police Executive Research Forum, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the National Sheriffs' Association, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police joined forces to develop a set of professional standards for law enforcement. Collectively known as the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), the organization develops standards and administers the accreditation process. A staff of 21 commissioners manages the process. Eleven commissioners are law enforcement professionals; the remaining 10 come from the public and private sector. The current commission includes a county supervisor, a city manager, a director of corporate security, a college professor, a district court justice, and a U.S. senator.

Since 1983, CALEA has been enlisting agencies in a voluntary accreditation process that ensures a standard of excellence while helping law enforcement agencies attain professional status. Today, over 600 agencies have achieved accreditation,(2) among them, the Long Hill Township, New Jersey, Police Department.

THE LONG HILL TOWNSHIP EXPERIENCE

Long Hill Township, New Jersey, covers over 12 square miles at the southern end of Morris County. It sits between two urban centers: Newark and Plainfield. Approximately 10,000 people call the township home. Twenty-eight sworn officers, 4 full-time civilian dispatchers, 3 full-time secretaries, and 3 auxiliary police officers staff the department, which received 27,531 calls for service and handled 14,490 incident reports in 1996.

In 1983, the chief began to look for ways to improve the department's delivery of professional quality services to the community. Like many law enforcement leaders, the chief wondered if accreditation would prove beneficial and practical. Initially, at least, the process seemed almost incomprehensible. Further study revealed that accreditation holds many benefits for departments that dedicate themselves to the task.

The Benefits of Accreditation

Accreditation provides a number of tangible benefits, including-

* controlled liability insurance costs. Accredited departments can obtain and increase insurance more easily and often have lower premiums.

* fewer lawsuits and citizen complaints, as well as the ability to better defend against those they do face. With written policies and procedures and well-trained employees, agencies not only handle situations more appropriately, but they also can document and defend themselves when problems do occur.

* stricter accountability within the agency. The accreditation process provides for written directives, sound training, clearly defined lines of authority, and routine reports that support decision making and resource allocation.

* support from government officials, who gain confidence in the accredited agency's commitment to operating efficiently and meeting community needs, as well as its ability to do so.

* increased community advocacy. For departments who have not yet adopted community policing, the accreditation process provides a framework for the department to work with citizens to solve community problems.(3)

Finally, accreditation provides recognition for a department's ability to meet established standards. It represents the culmination of a long, but ultimately rewarding, process.

The Accreditation Process

Police leaders interested in seeking accreditation should resolve two issues. First, are they prepared to change? Depending on the agency, the procedural and administrative changes accreditation will bring may prove dramatic. Second, an agency must have the financial and personnel resources needed to undergo the assessment and make the required changes. With the support of their governing bodies, agencies can budget for the cost of accreditation. Others may need to find creative ways to obtain funding.

The chief executive officer who understands the type of impact that accreditation will have can begin by appointing a full-time accreditation manager to oversee the process. A large agency probably would need an accreditation staff. In Long Hill Township, the chief, who was a lieutenant at the time, served as the department's first accreditation manager. Today, a captain handles the process.

To begin, the accreditation manager contacts CALEA to request a free information package. This basic information can help the agency decide if it wants to apply for accreditation. A $250 fee covers the application package and can be applied to the total cost of accreditation for agencies that apply within 6 months. The application package contains everything an agency needs to study and enroll in the program, including an application form, an accreditation agreement, and an application profile questionnaire, which provides basic information on the agency's size, responsibilities, functions, organizational structure, and management.

The application package also includes the accreditation bible: the standards manual. The manual's nine topics address such areas as the law enforcement role, responsibilities, and relationships; prisoner and court-related activities; and auxiliary and technical services. Forty chapters encompass 436 standards that apply to specific operational, administrative, organizational, or fiscal areas. Of course, all 436 standards would not pertain to every agency. Agency size and mission generally dictate which standards apply. The standards manual serves as the starting point for an agency to develop a written directive system and to conduct a self-assessment.

The Written Directive System

A comprehensive system of rules, policies, procedures, and special orders represents the backbone of accreditation. A written directive system that effectively incorporates the accreditation standards begins with a uniform format. Long Hill Township's system comprises five categories - rules and regulations, policy and procedures, special orders, department memorandums, and training bulletins. These categories form the basis for 16 volumes of 175 policies and procedures, which contain a wide variety of information. For example, volume 1 contains the department's rules and regulations, labor contracts, and documentation on the promotion process, personnel evaluations, and inspection services. Volume II holds the job descriptions for every position in the agency. A cover sheet references the applicable CALEA standard.

Does each department employee need to memorize the information contained in every manual? Of course not. They do, however, need to be familiar with the policies and procedures that affect their work. Still, the accreditation process ensures that a department develops guidelines to cover every aspect of its operations. At the same time, the directive system remains flexible. As new situations develop, the department can implement new procedures and add them to the appropriate policy manual. For example, special orders cover unusual events, such as parades. The ability for division commanders to issue written orders as situations or tasks dictate represents an integral part of a comprehensive, flexible written directive system.

Written directives mean little without an effective system to communicate the policies throughout the agency. Posting policy and procedural changes, special orders, or training bulletins in a central location - the roll-call room, locker rooms, the break room - gives employees easy access to them. By signing a certification page, which accompanies the directive, employees acknowledge that they have read the posting and understand it. In Long Hill Township, first-line supervisors make sure their officers sign the certification page. Communication section employees sign a separate page because every procedural change does not apply to them.

Signed certification pages get stapled to their accompanying directives and filed in the agency's manual. If the directive represents a change in policy, the chief marks the former policy "void," then files it with the new one. This way, the former policy will be available if needed, for example, if a citizen files a complaint against an officer.

Self-Assessment

After filing for accreditation, completing the necessary paperwork, and developing a written directive system, the accreditation manager conducts a self-assessment. During this phase, the manager compares the department's policies and procedures with CALEA standards to ensure compliance. The manager reviews department operations with the eye of an assessor, seeking to uncover areas that need improvement before the actual on-site assessment. Ideally, someone with accreditation experience should help conduct the self-assessment. Many states have police accreditation coalitions. These organizations, whose memberships include accreditation managers, can help agencies through the process.

The On-site Assessment

With its self-assessment complete, the department can schedule a date for the on-site assessment. CALEA selects the assessors, out-of-state law enforcement professionals who pose no conflict of interest with the applicant agency. Three assessors visited Long Hill Township. They spent three 12-hour days reviewing the department's policies and procedures and checking daily operations to ensure that department personnel complied with the established standards.

The assessment team also interviews agency employees and holds a public hearing to gamer input from citizens. The assessors then submit their findings to CALEA.

A hearing is scheduled for one of CALEA's quarterly meetings. At the hearing, the commission reviews the final report and hears testimony from agency personnel, assessors, and commission staff before deciding whether to award accreditation. By submitting annual reports, a newly accredited agency maintains its status for 3 years. Reaccreditation then entails only an on-site assessment and final hearing.

The Impact of Accreditation

Before accreditation, Long Hill Township, like many other law enforcement agencies, complied with many of the procedural aspects of the various standards. However, in many areas, the department had no formal, written procedures to ensure the consistent delivery of services. For example, the department relied on academy training to teach new officers how to direct traffic. Yet, with no written policy, important details were overlooked, for instance, that officers should wear reflective vests when directing traffic.

If the department could not be sure that officers were wearing reflective vests while directing traffic, how could it know how officers handled such critical issues as use of force? Written directives, along with a comprehensive, formal training program that includes written examinations, help to ensure uniform standards for all tasks.

In addition, the department's insurance premiums have decreased $3,000 as a result of accreditation. Finally, operations, investigations, and service to the community have improved significantly.

CONCLUSION

Professionalization of any occupation occurs when members establish and implement standards of operation. Accreditation provides law enforcement agencies with the standards that embody a profession, as well as a mechanism to develop policies and procedures to ensure compliance with those standards.

Agencies committed to the task develop a written directive system unique to their circumstances. With input from employees and the community, departments garner support from their constituents while getting closer to the coveted reward of accreditation. At the same time, accreditation builds on this foundation, as others gain a new-found respect and appreciation for the department's professionalism.

Some administrators may complain that accreditation is costly or time-consuming. Yet, the cost of accreditation becomes insignificant compared to the expense of civil liability or the ill will that develops when citizens feel they cannot trust the police to protect and serve them. Agencies who become accredited can foster the professionalism that citizens expect and deserve.

Endnotes

1 Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 1995), 930.

2 Elaine Conner, CALEA, telephone interview, February 23, 1999.

3 Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., Description of Standards, 1994, 1-5.

Chief Robert J. Falzarano leads the Long Hill Township, New Jersey, Police Department.