Join the SCPAC
INTRODUCTION:
Accreditation provides a Chief Executive Officer with a permanent process that promotes continual self-evaluation, commitment to “best practices†and the efficient use of resources to improve service delivery regardless of the size, geographic location, or functional responsibilities of the agency. Much work and a high level of commitment are necessary to achieve and maintain accredited status. Fortunately, there is help. The South Carolina Police Accreditation Coalition (SCPAC) boasts a staff of highly qualified, experienced personnel who have accumulated years of experience assisting agencies in achieving and maintaining accreditation.
New accreditation managers need help in getting started. The information contained within this document reflects the aggregate experience of South Carolina’s existing accreditation managers.
Index:
Phase I: Research and Planning
Phase II: Getting Started
Phase III: The Preliminary File Review.
Phase IV: The Mock Assessment.
Phase V: The Official Assessment and Commission Review.
Phase VI: Accreditation Maintenance.
Phase I: Research and Planning
There are different accreditation programs. All programs utilize the same standards; only the number of applicable standards is different.
Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) Accreditation requires an agency to establish and maintain compliance with 459 standards that are regarded as the best practices in public safety. The CALEA Accreditation program is the Platinum Standard of the three programs.
CALEA Recognition and the South Carolina Police Accreditation Program (SCPAP) require an agency to establish and maintain compliance with the 110 core standards. Agencies may choose to have their program administered by either CALEA or the SCPAP or both. These programs are typically used as a stepping-stone to full CALEA Accreditation.
Agencies can obtain information directly from the CALEA website (www.calea.org) or by contacting CALEA at 800-368-3757.
Suggestions:
• Purchase a copy of the CALEA Standards, carefully review and compare the standards to your existing written policies & procedures. This may assist you in determining:
o What additions or modifications should be made;
o How long this might take; and
o What budgetary provisions must be made, if any.
• Arrange to visit with a nearby CALEA Accredited Agency to view accreditation files and written directives.
• Attend a regional meeting of the South Carolina Police Accreditation Coalition.
• Attend a CALEA or SCPAC Training Conference. Attendees may include: agency CEO, command staff, Mayor, key members of a governing body; or the potential accreditation manager.
You MUST consider:
• Will your governing body lend financial support to the program? You will need funds in order to achieve accreditation. Check with your Joint Insurance Fund or Excess Liability carrier(s) to see if there are any insurance discounts or other funding for becoming and maintaining accredited status. Check with your County Solicitor to authorize the use of forfeiture funds.
• Will your agency’s culture support accreditation? Management support for the changes that come with accreditation is critical. Accreditation is a continual process; it must become part of the normal day-to-day operation and your agency’s culture.
Finally, become a member of the SCPAC before you enter into any contract with CALEA.
Phase II: Getting Started
The agency begins the self-assessment phase with the return of the signed Accreditation Agreement and other related documentation to the administering organization, either CALEA.
Agencies have 36 months from the date a CALEA representative signs the Accreditation Agreement to complete self-assessment and schedule an on-site assessment. The Agreement provides for extensions with related fees in the event an agency requires additional time.
Agencies proceed with self-assessment by bringing their written directive system into compliance with applicable standards, developing proofs of compliance, and preparing for the on-site assessment.
The SCPAC is available to provide guidance, training, and technical assistance.
Some agencies opt to begin their self-assessment phase before they execute the Accreditation Agreement. The SCPAC takes no official stand on this option, but does recognize that some agencies need more time than normally allotted to bring their processes into compliance. In some cases, this is a prudent course of action.
Practical Considerations:
1. Make sure that the CEO knows what he/she is getting into
Accreditation is a journey, not a destination! This is not a finite project that ends once you achieve accreditation. You will need to verify that you are complying with these standards and your own policies & procedures every three years to maintain your accreditation.
2. Make sure that your agency is doing this for the right reasons
Attempting to achieve accreditation solely because of ego is a waste of everyone’s time. This process will require a commitment to adopt public safety’s best practices, even if some of these may be contrary to your agency’s culture. You must be willing to “Walk the Talk.â€
3. Accreditation manager selection is critical to success
Accreditation managers need to be self-starters who can work with little to no direct supervision. They should have superior writing & research skills. They should have direct, unfettered access to the CEO that is reflected in your organizational chart. Accreditation managers should be freed of other tasks as much as possible. This process will be doomed if a person with a full workload is assigned this task. Do not select a person who is “winding down†their career. You need “can-do†attitudes!
4. Make sure that you know that you may need to change some established procedures
Are your agency’s policies and procedures compliant with all applicable statutes, Attorney General Guidelines and Directives, county prosecutor guidelines and directives, local laws and ordinances, administrative code, collective bargaining agreements, etc? Even if so, these policies, procedures, etc. may not be compliant with the accreditation standards. You may also need to add or change some local ordinances.
5. Make sure that you understand that this process requires a lot of work
Excellence is not easy, nor should it be. If so, everybody would be doing it. Change is not easy either. You will encounter some natural resistance, but that is okay. Accreditation is not a process that you can put in place, then sit back, and watch.
6. Make sure that you understand that you may need to expend funds to bring your facility into compliance
Most likely, these would be in the areas of detainee detention (Chapter 71 & 72), records management (Chapter 82) and property and evidence (Chapter 83 & 84). You may not know what you need until you receive technical assistance from the SCPAC.
7. You need thick skin
You are going to undertake a critical self-evaluation of your agency’s policies, procedures, and practices. You will be inviting experienced accreditation experts into your agency to conduct an even more critical review. You may not like what you hear and you may need to change the way you have always operated.
8. Join and use the South Carolina Police Accreditation Coalition (SCPAC)
As a member of the Coalition, you have a huge resource pool at your disposal as you guide your agency through the accreditation process.
9. Purchase Accreditation Process Management Software
The CALEA Accreditation Compliance Express (CACE) software program will help you manage the complexity of the accreditation program. The CACE Program provides an agency with a powerful tool in completing the steps necessary to achieve accredited status and serves as a valuable assistant in the overall management of the accreditation process. Agencies can obtain information directly from the CALEA website (www.calea.org ) or by contacting CALEA at 800-368-3757.
10. You’ll need training
The Coalition provides member agencies with quality accreditation related training throughout the year. All new accreditation managers are required to attend the New Accreditation Manager training course. As the new accreditation manager becomes more familiar with the duties, responsibilities, and individual tasks associated with their position they must attend other important supplemental training courses such as:
• Accreditation Standards Review and Interpretation
• Advanced Accreditation Manager
• CACE Accreditation Software
• How to Conduct a Critical Analysis of Police Operations
• Preparing for the Accreditation On-Site
11. Regularly attend and participate in SCPAC regional meetings
To serve the needs of our members, the Coalition has established four regions. Regional meetings are held monthly at the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Association Headquarters in Irmo.
The most significant services the Coalition provides occur at the regional meetings and are known as Accreditation File Workshops. During these workshops, accreditation managers can have their written directives and accreditation files reviewed one on one, with trained and experienced accreditation assessors on a regular basis. This regular involvement will significantly help accreditation managers properly prepare for the Preliminary File Review and the Mock Assessment. Members report repeatedly that when they have their files reviewed regularly at file workshops they get a much better understanding of the process, what is required, and where they stand.
12. Select a mentor
New accreditation managers will have many questions. It is for this reason you should collaborate yourself with an experienced Coalition member who will act as your mentor. Your mentor will guide you when you have those quirky questions and problems. A list of qualified mentors is posted on our home page in the important links menu. You will meet them at your region’s meetings and when you feel comfortable, you should approach one of them and ask them to be your mentor. You can call any mentor on the list at any time with any problem or issue you may have. If they cannot answer your question, they will put you in touch with someone who can.
13. Request sample policies
As a Coalition member, you have access to thousands of model policies, procedures, plans, and programs developed by agencies and professional consultants across the United States and around the globe. The objective of the International Public Safety Policy Center is to assist public safety agencies in the critical yet difficult task of developing and refining policy for your agency. If you do not find the policy you are looking for in the International Policy Database then you may send out a request to the entire Coalition membership. You may request model policies, procedures, plans, programs, etc… simply by completing the form fields in the “International Policy Center†page and pressing the “Submit†button. If an agency has information that fits what you are looking for they will email it directly to the address that you provide.
Once you obtain policies that you feel are close to what your agency wants to do or how it wants to perform a particular task, you must modify it to fit into your existing directive. Once it is modified and plugged into your current policy, it is critical to have a second person review the new policy for spelling, grammar, agency specific issues, and procedural accuracy. Please see the disclaimer at the bottom of the International Public Safety Policy Center web page for further details.
14. Observe a mock assessment
It is strongly recommended that you attend a mock assessment as an observer. Open observer positions are announced via email and are filled on a first come first served basis. These open positions fill up fast so please check your email regularly. Many members have commented that the process did not seem to make sense until they spent a day with an experienced team observing a mock assessment and that it was some of the best training the ever received.
15. Attend the annual accreditation conference
Join the elite of the law enforcement community at the annual conference. The annual conference is filled with two days of workshops that will help your accreditation manager lead your agency though the accreditation process. The conference is structured to provide essential information critical for the success of your agency’s accreditation program. Many executives and accreditation managers consider attendance at the annual accreditation conference to be the most mission critical event of the year.
If you are a member of the South Carolina Police Accreditation Coalition, it is mandatory that you send your accreditation manager to this annual conference.
Phase III: The Preliminary File Review.
The purpose of the preliminary file review is to better prepare an agency for its mock on-site assessment by the SCPAC and subsequent “official†on-site assessment by either CALEA or the SCPAC. The Preliminary File Review is a critical analysis of 10 standards (1.2.3, 1.3.9, 12.2.1, 33.4.3, 34.1.3, 41.2.2, 44.2.2, 61.1.5, 84.1.1, and 84.1.6).
An accreditation manager will request a Preliminary File Review by clicking on the Request a Review link that is located in the “Important Links†menu on the SCPAC home page. The accreditation manager will be contacted by the SCPAC staff member who will be conducting the review. The agency is responsible for either mailing or hand delivering the 10 accreditation files to the staff member. If the agency mails the files, they must include return postage. The staff member will complete a comprehensive report. This report will also suggest fixes for those areas found to be non-compliant or have inadequate proofs of compliance.
Phase IV: The Mock Assessment.
The difference between a successful on-site assessment and one having many difficulties, and perhaps even a re-assessment, often depends on the quality of the “mock†assessment. The Coalition works very hard to maintain a strong pool of experienced assessors and accreditation managers who will travel to your agency and perform a mock assessment. A mock assessment is designed to be a comprehensive “dry-run†review of your accreditation files and operations by knowledgeable accreditation practitioners. SCPAC requires an agency to have a mock assessment prior to them sending out an official assessment team. Mock assessments have become such an effective quality control measure that program managers often begin the assessment scheduling process by determining the status of your mock. The lack of a quality mock makes your agency more vulnerable to major noncompliance issues that may be difficult or impossible to correct during the on-site assessment. As you progress through the process, you will learn more about mock assessments, how to prepare for your own, and how to schedule it. The Coalition will not perform a mock assessment for any member agency unless all their accreditation files have been completed.
It normally takes two to three months from the time you request your mock assessment until the actual mock assessment is scheduled, staffed, and completed. Please build this time into your planning. The mock should be minimally 3-4 months prior to your anticipated on-site assessment. This gives you time to fix any problems that were uncovered.
Phase V: The Official Assessment and Commission Review.
Once the agency has notified either CALEA or the SCPAC of its completion of the self-assessment phase and had its mock assessment, the CALEA or SCPAC Program Manager will schedule the official on-site assessment on dates that are mutually agreeable and in compliance with the agreement between the agency and CALEA or the SCPAC.
In addition to reviewing the actual files, the official assessment typically includes an inspection of the physical facility and fleet, ride-alongs with law enforcement personnel (if applicable), interviews with agency employees, and a session for public comments.
Following the on-site assessment, the assessment team prepares a comprehensive report for the CALEA and/or SCPAC Commission’s Agency Review Committees. These bodies then conduct formal hearings that are open to the public regarding the agency’s compliance to applicable standards. Designated agency representatives are invited to participate in this review. If an agency is unable to participate, the CALEA or the SCPAC Program Manager presents the agency’s on-site report and other necessary information to the Review Committee. The commissioners will determine whether the agency has met all required standards and receives the award of accreditation.
At the CALEA Conference or SCPAC event, the agency receives a letter conferring accredited status for three years.
Phase VI: Accreditation Maintenance.
During the three-year re-accreditation self-assessment phase the agency must maintain compliance with applicable standards, keep its proofs of compliance up-to-date, and live by the letter and spirit of those standards. To retain its accreditation status, the agency is required to submit to CALEA or the SCPAC annually, the appropriate accreditation continuation fees and a CALEA or SCPAC Agency Annual Report. The annual report, due by its anniversary date each year, includes a summary of the agency’s accreditation maintenance experience for the preceding year and a declaration of continued compliance with applicable standards.
Useful ideas that can better facilitate the accreditation process:
a. Place your written directive system into an electronic format
This preliminary process will facilitate the necessary revisions to your written directive system. Mentors can easily edit problem areas via email. The Coalition can facilitate this for you if you do not have that capability. Contact the Executive Director for more information.
b. Consider interns
College and high school interns can provide some additional clerical staffing. Interns can also conduct some research. Be careful not to rely heavily on intern participation due to the limited time they will be with you.
c. Be careful when selecting light duty personnel
You need personnel with commitment to the process and not those who are just passing through.
d. Inventory your existing written directive system to see where you stand
Sort your existing directives into general categories. Some agencies can do this electronically while others will need a large table. These categories can follow the standards chapters. Example (for illustrative purposes only):
General (your written directive format, mission & values, code of ethics, rules & regulations, etc.)
Administration (organizational structure, finance, personnel polices & practices, logistics, equipment, etc.)
Routine operations (patrol, traffic, criminal investigations, juvenile operations, constitutional compliance, etc.)
Emergency operations (OEM, unusual occurrences, incident command, tactical, etc.)
Support (training, detention center, communications, records, property & evidence, etc.)
This is purely your agency’s call. What works in one agency may not work in another. Your organizational culture will dictate the best structure of your written directive system.
This inventory will permit you to see what needs to be added, modified, or deleted. Some agencies have decided to start from scratch.
e. First, address those standards that may require capital expenditures, contractual changes, or action by the governing body
Typically, these include, but are not limited to:
Property & evidence facilities, including temporary storage
Detention center, holding cells, interview rooms, etc
Promotional process
Selection process
Recruitment
f. Get everyone involved, especially the senior commanders, union representatives, and your records management staff
The team approach works best. It is human nature to resist change. Involving more stakeholders can minimize the resistance. Your records staff will be crucial in identifying and forwarding the necessary written documentation to prove compliance with the standards.
g. Be careful with Attorney General or County Prosecutor Guidelines and Directives
Some AG and Prosecutor guidelines and directives are not fully compliant with the standards. You will need to add some additional provisions.
h. Refer to the Glossary of Terms in the back of your Standards Manual
Do this often. Certain terms in the standard language may have a different meaning from your first interpretation. Assessors will use the CALEA definition to measure compliance.
i. Don’t wait until the last minute to get this done
All too often, an agency's first request for assistance comes near the end of their 36-month self-assessment phase.
j. Don't be afraid to ask for help
The SCPAC is here to provide you with technical assistance. The SCPAC will not do the work for you, but will gladly provide the necessary help.
