Accreditation

Staunton Police Department A Nationally Accredited Police Agency

In May of 1985, the Staunton Police department became one of the first ten law enforcement agencies in the world accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA).  The Department received its initial accreditation award in a ceremony at Atlanta, Georgia.  Since that time, the Department has been reaccredited in 1990, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010.  The process to obtain law enforcement status included the agency meeting in excess of three hundred standards pertaining to all aspects of police operations and administration.  The agency participated in its most recent on-site assessment in April 2010.

Accreditation, while somewhat new for law enforcement agencies, has been around for some time. Colleges and universities, hospitals, correctional facilities, and numerous other agencies have undergone an accreditation process for years. CALEA was formed to develop nationwide standards for police agencies and a process of accreditation. The four major law enforcement membership agencies formed CALEA in 1979. These included the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriff's Association, the Police Executive Research Forum, and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. 

Citizens of the City of Staunton benefit from the accreditation process by assuring that their department operates under a set of nationally accepted standards that are designed to provide them with professional law enforcement services. There is a broad range of programs that benefit the public that were established as the result of accreditation. These include crime prevention, community relations, public information, school liaison, etc. The accreditation process ensures that the Staunton Police Department maintains procedures to encourage, listen, and respond to citizen requests of needs, complaints, or inquiries.

If you have questions, comments, or require further about the department and accreditation, please contact Captain L.A. Miller  at 540.332.3845.

A photo of the commemorative badge to be worn by all Staunton police personnel beginning in September of 2001. The badge was designed based on the badges worn by Staunton officers around the turn of the century. The bottom two panels read "5th Accreditation 2001," commemorating the agency's fifth accreditation award received on July 28, 2001.