Periodically, CALEA finds it necessary to update bylaws, policies, and standards in order to maintain the mission, purpose, and values of the organization. As the commission identifies changes, additions, and/or updates, the proposed item is posted to the CALEA website for client comment and feedback.

The CALEA Commission is seeking feedback on the proposed amendment to the CALEA Bylaws - Section 8.4 The Agency Review Committees – For initial accreditations only, the Agency Review Committee, would add the Commission finding “Provisional Accreditation with Conditions” award designation. This recommended status is for agencies seeking initial accreditation only and is intended to protect the broader award designation brand, while also providing the Commission more options in addressing issues facing agencies seeking initial accreditation.

Under current CALEA® Accreditation practices, agencies seeking “initial” accreditation in any of the four credentialing programs (Law Enforcement, Communications, Training Academy, or Campus Safety) would have a Compliance Services file review conducted to determine compliance with all applicable standards within that program. If a substantial number of standards were identified as “non-compliant” and not mitigated by the agency, the site-based portion of the assessment process would be delayed. This forces the leadership of affected agencies to go back into “self-assessment” to mitigate standards issues and re-apply for an initial assessment later or withdraw from the process. Additionally, under the current awarding model, agencies having compliance issues following the Commission’s Review Committee Hearings are either denied accredited status or found to be “accredited with conditions”. Both findings are not necessarily supportive of the broader intent of CALEA Accreditation. To that end, agencies not awarded are left with guidance to resolve pending standard compliance issues and those accredited with conditions are able to carry the accredited status moniker without demonstrating initial compliance with all applicable standards. The purpose of this proposal is to create a new Commission finding for agencies seeking initial accreditation that resolves both of the above-denoted concerns. The proposed amendment to the bylaws would replace the “Accredited with Conditions” award designation with the following “action and/or disposition” as a possible finding by the Commission when reviewing candidate agencies for initial CALEA Accreditation. Please review the proposed amendment and provide comments and/or feedback by February 13, 2022.