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player ready...Wilmette police are again seeking high marks with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, and have asked residents to comment on the department at a March 9 public hearing as part of the group’s on-site assessment.
The hearing is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. March 9 in the second floor board room at Village Hall, 1200 Wilmette Ave.
A two-man team for the commission, commonly known as CALEA, will hear testimony during the session. This year’s team includes Lewiston, Maine, Police Chief Michael Bussiere, and Jack Moulton, the support services administrator for the Hagerstown, Md., Police Department.
Retaining an accreditation from CALEA is important to Wilmette’s department, Police Chief Brian King said March 2.
“We were one of the first law enforcement agencies in Illinois and one of the first in the nation to get accredited in 1986, and we’ve kept that up ever since,” he said.
After CALEA officials decide that a police agency has met its standards of professionalism on everything from ethics and operations to community interaction, it issues accreditation for a three-year period. Wilmette was last given the professional stamp of approval in 2012.
CALEA began in 1979, and was created by members of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the National Sheriffs’ Association and the Police Executive Research Association. Member agencies come from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Barbados.
The group worked to establish guidelines of professionalism for police departments and other agencies, covering everything from management and crime prevention policies to personnel practices, operations and administration guidelines, continuing education, and community outreach.
Departments embarking on the voluntary search for CALEA accreditation must first go through a self-review process, setting up policies that meet organization standards. Re-evaluation and self-analysis is required to retain accreditation, as well.
The visit from CALEA member professionals follows. King said the two-person team reviewing his department is scheduled to arrive in town March 7 and leave March 11.
Getting a passing grade from the association is not easy. In 2012, only about 10 percent of law enforcement agencies across the country were accredited, and the 2010 CALEA annual report showed fewer than 300 agencies reaching or retaining that level.
King said the competition to become or stay accredited remains extremely tough: “Currently less than 2 percent of all agencies across the country do so.”
He added that the Wilmette department undertakes the three-year re-accreditation cycle, “because it’s our commitment to professionalism and accountability.”
“Traditionally we don’t get people commenting (during the process), but this is open to everybody. It’s your right to make a comment about your police department, whether that’s positive or negative.”
Those who wish to comment by telephone, including employees of the department and members of the public, can call 847-853-75545 between 1 and 3 p.m. March 9. They can FAX comments to 847-256-2739 any time until March 10.
People can also send written comments to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, Inc. (CALEA), 13575 Heathcote Blvd., Gainesville, Va., 20155.
Anyone with questions concerning CALEA, the accreditation process or information on standards the group uses to make its decisions may contact Syndy Nugent, the Wilmette department’s management analyst, at 847-853-7565, or at [email protected].
Twitter: @pioneer_kathy
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CALEA hearing
Who: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies
What: agency that sets standards for and assesses police agencies
In Wilmette: on-site team assessing Wilmette police department
Public comment: 5:30 p.m. March 9, Village Hall, 1200 Wilmette Ave.