CALEA Accreditation
Law Enforcement Accreditation provides an opportunity for the Cranston Police Department to demonstrate voluntarily that it meets professionally-recognized criteria for excellence in management and service-delivery. The process is much like accreditation for colleges and universities and for medical institutions requiring adherence to standards of performance that prescribe "what" agencies should be doing, but not "how" they should be doing it. That decision is left up to our agency and the Chief of Police.
The standards were developed to help law enforcement agencies achieve the following:
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Increase agency capabilities to prevent and control crime
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Enhance agency effectiveness and efficiency
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Improve cooperation and coordination with other law enforcement agencies and with other components of the criminal justice system
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Increase citizen and staff confidence in the goals, objectives, policies, and practices of the agency
There are a wide variety of both direct and intangible benefits the Department receives in its association with this management tool. A few are described here:
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Controlled liability exposure
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Greater accountability
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Increased community advocacy
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Improved employee morale
To receive additional information about accreditation, please contact the CPD Accreditation Manager at (401) 477-5127 or send him an email at scarmody@cranstonri.org or connect to the CALEA home page at http://www.calea.org.