FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 26, 2015
(Fishers, Indiana) - On June 8, 2015, the Fishers Police Department will seek its fourth reaccreditation through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA). This is a three year process during which the police department must adhere to strict international guidelines of policing and organizational practices. Assessors will review policies and examine procedures to verify compliance with these internationally set standards.
Chief of Police George Kehl says “Verification by the team of assessors from CALEA that the Fishers Police Department meets the commission’s state of the art standards is a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence.”
As part of the on-site assessment, agency employees and members of the community are invited to offer comments at a public information session on Tuesday June 9th at 7:00pm. The session will be conducted at the Fishers City Hall Auditorium located at One Municipal Drive, Fishers, Indiana. There will be an interpreter available for hearing impaired individuals.
Additionally, members of the community are also invited to offer comments by calling 317-595-3222 on Tuesday June 9th between the hours of 2:00pm to 4:00pm. Comments will be taken by the assessment team.
Telephone comments as well as appearances at the public information session are limited to 10 minutes and must address the agency’s ability to comply with CALEA’s standards. A complete listing of the standards can be found at http://www.calea.org/content/law-enforcement-program-standards.
Anyone wishing to submit written comments about the Fishers Police Department’s ability to comply with the standards for accreditation may send them to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, Inc. (CALEA), 10306 Eaton Place, Suite 320, Fairfax, Virginia, 20155.
The Fishers Police Department has to comply with specific standards in order to gain accredited status, Chief Kehl said. The Chief also said that “the accreditation process allows an agency to be confident that the policies that guide the actions of officers are current, effective, and equitable and based on the best practices in policing.”
The Accreditation Manager for the Fishers Police Department is Lori A. Spillane. The assessment team is composed of law enforcement practitioners from similar but out-of-state agencies. The assessors will review policies and practices, interview individuals, and visit offices and other places where compliance can be witnessed. The assessors are: Chief Charles Walters and Chief Tom Kulhawik. “Once the commission’s assessors complete their review of our agency, they report back to the full commission, which will then decide if we are to be granted continued accredited status”, Ms. Spillane stated.
Accreditation is for three years, during which time the agency must submit annual reports attesting continued compliance with those standards under which it was initially accredited. The Fishers Police Department was originally accredited in 2003 and this assessment is for the 4th re-accreditation.
For more information regarding the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, Inc. please write the Commission at 10302 Eaton Place, Suite 100, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030-2215, or call (800) 368-3757 or (703) 352-4225.