The perceptions of law enforcement accreditation among accredited and nonaccredited departments

Abstract

In 1979 The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) was created to develop a set of law enforcement standards and to create a recognized process to achieve excellence in management and service delivery. This process, known as accreditation, however voluntary, is not free. It is demanding of a department and all of its resources. For a department contemplating accreditation, there is little scientific information available to aid in their decision making. It is the purpose of this thesis to examine the benefits and drawbacks associated with CALEA's accreditation program in order to determine what a department can anticipate if they choose to undergo the process. This study seeks to act as a catalyst in the decision making process through testing the perceptions of accreditation by surveying departments which are both accredited and those that are not. A total of 93 surveys were sent to various municipal law enforcement agencies in the state of Ohio. All 45 accredited municipal law enforcement agencies received a brief postcard survey along with another 45 nonaccredited municipal agencies. A more in-depth survey was sent to three other departments: one accredited, one which was undergoing the process at the time, and one nonaccredited. It was hypothesized that those departments that were accredited would view the process favorably and those that were nonaccredited would be more reserved: these hypotheses were supported. Many nonaccredited departments found the cost and time involved with CALEA's accreditation program were issues which prevented them from seeking it. Future research should compare CALEA's accreditation process with those that are state-run to determine which best meets the needs of the agency.