For the fourth consecutive year, HPD received the Advanced Law Enforcement Accreditation Award from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). This award is given in recognition of law enforcement departments that have shown exceptional compliance with various standards set out by CALEA.
Let's delve into the process involved in attaining this prestigious accreditation. During the four-year accreditation cycle, departments must show compliance with several hundred standards set out by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. To prove this compliance, there is a dedicated team that reviews and revises policies, procedures, and other general orders to make sure they meet the standards, according to the Hawaii Police Department news release.
The CALEA has been shaping law enforcement credentials since its establishment. CALEA is a credentialing authority created in 1979, according to the organization’s website. The board is made up of nearly two dozen commissioners from law enforcement offices, courts, and emergency communications departments across the country.
The hard work and commitment required to maintain these high standards are acknowledged by none other than Hawaii Island's Police Chief. "Our department’s Accreditation team works daily to ensure our department maintains the highest standards of professionalism, accountability, and community service, and I am immensely proud of their unwavering commitment to help us achieve this prestigious accreditation," said Hawaii Island Police Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz. Each year in the four-year accreditation cycle there is a web-based assessment, and in the final year, certified CALEA assessors come to the island for an assessment. During that time, they visit police stations and facilities and interviews community leaders. Members of the department also present information and answer questions from the national CALEA review committee, according to the Hawaii Island Police Department. This year, the committee met in Bellevue, Wash., and announced on Nov. 11 that "HPD received accreditation renewal under the CALEA® Advanced Law Enforcement Accreditation program," according to the news release. The department first achieved this accreditation in November 2012, and was reaccredited in November 2015 and November 2019.
This accreditation isn't just a badge of honor—it also brings tangible benefits to law enforcement agencies. CALEA accreditation can help to control law enforcement agencies’ liability and insurance costs, improvements in administration for departments, guidance and accountability, said Dave Kurz, Interim Police Administration of the Swampscott Massachusetts Police Department, in a letter in the Community Policing Dispatch, which notes that CALEA can help small law enforcement agencies, not just the large ones.