Chief Terrence Green announced today that a team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA®), will be conducting a virtual onsite assessment November 1-3, 2021, to examine all aspects of the Lexington Police Department policy and procedures, management, operations, and support services.
Verification by the team that the Lexington Police Department meets the Commission’s state-of-the-art standards is part of a voluntary process to gain accreditation – a highly prized recognition of public safety professional excellence.
As part of the virtual on-site assessment, agency employees and members of the community are invited to offer comments at a public information session Tuesday, November 2, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. The session will be conducted via Zoom. Interested parties will need to contact Inspector Missy Silcox, Accreditation Manager at msilcox@lexsc.com for website address and access.
If for some reason an individual cannot attend the public information session but would still like to provide comments to the assessment team, he/she may do so by telephone. The public may call (803) 808-4205 on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
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 Standards. A copy of the Standards is available for viewing at the Lexington Police Department by also contacting Inspector Missy Silcox at (803) 359-6260.
Persons wishing to offer written comments about the Lexington Police Department’s ability to meet the CALEA Law Enforcement standards for accreditation are requested to write to: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA®) 13575 Heathcote Blvd Suite 320 Gainesville, Virginia 20155 or via email at: calea@calea.org
“The Town of Lexington Police Department must comply with approximately 464 standards in order to gain accredited status. Accreditation standards provide the Police Department with a modern management tools necessary to ensure that all our policies and procedures conform to the most up-to-date professional law enforcement standards. By the Lexington Police Department voluntarily choosing to seek this higher standard of CALEA accreditation, the community can expect and receive a consistently better level of service and accountability from our department”, Chief Green said.
Lexington Police Department was first accredited on the state level by the SC Law Enforcement Accreditation Inc. in 1999. The department remains state accredited with the last award in 2019. In 2007 Chief Green identified international accreditation as a department goal. A contract with CALEA for International Accreditation was signed in July of the same year. The first CALEA Onsite Assessment was conducted in December 2008. The Lexington Police Department received its first CALEA Award in March 2009 and has maintained accreditation on their subsequent onsites in 2012, 2015, and 2018.
The assessors are: Team Leader, (retired) Captain William Pease, Nashua (NH) Police Department, and (retired) Ms. Pamela Kunz, DeKalb County (GA) Police Department.
Once the CALEA Assessors complete their review of the agency, they report back to the full Commission, which will then decide if the agency is to be granted accredited status.
Accreditation is for four years, during which the agency must submit annual reports attesting continued compliance with those standards under which it was initially accredited.
For more information regarding the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. please write the Commission at: CALEA 13575 Heathcote Blvd, Suite 320 Gainesville, VA 20155 or call (800) 368-3757 or (703) 352-4225. Information is also available at: www.calea.org