The City of Naperville is proud to announce that the Naperville Police Department was reaccredited with Advanced Law Enforcement Accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), at CALEA’s November 2012 training conference. This marks Naperville’s 20th year as a CALEA-accredited law enforcement agency.
The Naperville Police Department was additionally honored with the award of “Accreditation with Excellence.” This award is for demonstrated excellence in the development of contemporary policy and procedure; excellence in the use of accreditation as a tool for continuous improvement; excellence in collection, review and analysis of data for public safety improvement; and excellence in addressing the intent of CALEA standards beyond compliance. This is a rare and prestigious award given only to exemplary accredited agencies.
“The men and women of the Naperville Police Department demonstrate the highest standards of public safety today,” Police Chief Robert Marshall said. “The department does not view accreditation as merely an act to think about only every few years. Through accreditation, we open up our department to public comment and outside assessors who review our policy and police operations so that we can continue to improve in all areas. Accreditation is truly the basis for how the department operates and how we create best practices to ensure we have a safe community in which to live and work.”
In August, a team of assessors from CALEA conducted a Gold Standard Assessment which examined and audited all aspects of the department’s policies and procedures, management, operations and support services. Verification by the team that the Naperville Police Department meets the commission’s stringent standards is part of a voluntary process to gain accreditation, a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence.
Naperville’s assessment process was conducted by Police Chief Stephen E. Walker of the Centerville, Ohio, Police Department (retired) and Police Chief Mark Palmer of the Coventry, Conn., Police Department. The assessors reviewed written materials, interviewed key personnel, held public and telephone comment sessions and conducted a facility inspection for evidence of compliance. Accreditation is for three years, during which time the agency must submit annual reports documenting continued compliance with standards.
For information on CALEA, visit www.calea.org.
