Madison Police Department may receive accreditation status at CALEA Conference
HUNTSVILLE – The Madison Police Department will be one of 250 law enforcement agencies participating in the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies’ (CALEA) conference to be held in Huntsville this week. Beginning May 1, law enforcement executives and supervisors from across the southeast will attend classes that present best practices for 21st century law enforcement agencies.
CALEA was created in 1979 as a credentialing authority through joint efforts of law enforcement’s major executive associations to strengthen crime prevention and control capabilities, formalize management procedures, establish fair personnel practices, improve service delivery, solidify interagency cooperation, and increase community and staff confidence in the agency. Agencies are required to meet standards that are set by CALEA in order to achieve these goals and must provide proof that the agency has adopted the standards into policy and procedure, as well as consistently follows them.
Madison Police Department is under review by CALEA to be accredited and at this conference, if approved, will join the ranks of the Huntsville Police Department and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office as nationally accredited agencies. Only about 5% of agencies hold a valid accreditation status.
“CALEA promotes excellence in public safety through professional standards and continuous assessment,” said Madison Police Chief David Jernigan. “The command staff and supervisors of the Madison Police Department are enthusiastic about participation in this conference and the opportunities that it affords our agency.”
