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Florissant Police To Undergo Accreditation Assessment Dec. 5-7
Chief William Karabas has announced that the Florissant Police Department will undergo assessment by a team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA). The assessment team will arrive on Dec. 5 to examine all aspects of the Florissant Police Department’s policies and procedures, operations, and support services.
Verification by the team that the Florissant Police Department meets the Commission’s state-of-the-art standards is part of a voluntary process by the department to maintain the international accreditation that the department first attained in 2001. Chief Karabas stated that accreditation is recognition of law enforcement professional excellence.
As an element of the on-site assessment, department employees and members of the community are invited to offer comments at a public information session at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 7. The session will be held in the Council Chambers of the Florissant City Hall, 955 Rue St. Francois, Florissant.
If an individual cannot attend the session but wishes to provide comments to the assessment team, he or she may do so by telephone. Comments may be made to the assessors between the hours of 1 and 4 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 7, by calling 314-830-6012.
A copy of the standards is available for review at the Florissant Police Department. For information regarding the standards or the accreditation process, please contact Captain John Foster at 314-830-6014 or Sergeant Scott Sachs at 314-830-6015
Persons interested in submitting written comments about the Florissant Police Department’s compliance with the standards for accreditation are requested to write: the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, Inc. (CALEA), 10302 Eaton Place, Suite 100, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030-2201
The assessment team is comprised of law enforcement practitioners from out-of-state agencies. The assessment team will be led by Chief Philip Potter of the Huntersville, North Carolina, Police Department. The second team member is Deputy Director Richard Meier of the Hunter College Department of Public Safety in New York, New York.
The assessors will review written materials, interview employees, observe practices and inspect facilities where compliance with the standards can be witnessed. Once the assessment team completes the review of the agency they will report to the full Commission which will then determine if the Florissant Police Department should retain accreditation status. The final decision on re-accreditation will be made in March 2010.
Accreditation is valid for three years, during which time the agency must submit annual reports attesting continued compliance with those standards under which it was accredited. Chief Karabas added that the Florissant Police Department must demonstrate ongoing compliance with up to 463 individual standards in order to remain accredited. The Chief added, “Accreditation confirms the professional status of the Florissant Police Department and insures that the residents of Florissant receive delivery of the very best police services possible.”
