In two weeks, the Carroll County Sheriff?s Office will see if it can meet nearly 400 of Maryland?s strictest standards for law enforcement agencies.
Beginning April 22, inspectors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies will conduct an extensive five-day review of the sheriff?s office to determine if it meets 394 different standards for accreditation. CALEA is one of a handful of national groups that assesses law enforcement agencies and is the only one in Maryland, Sheriff Kenneth Tregoning said.
“In law enforcement, ?integrity? is a big buzzword,” said Sgt. Philip Kasten. “Instead of the sheriff standing up and telling you himself that we?re the best … we?ll have an objective third-party assessing that.”
CALEA assesses departments? adherence to standards in areas of policy and procedures, training, operations, administration and support services. Since beginning to prepare for the accreditation process in 2002, the sheriff?s office has been updating and assessing itself in those areas.
The process spurred some organizational changes in the support services side of the office, Kasten said, which will help the sheriff?s office keep up with the county?s growth.
Accredited agencies get more confidence from the public, local governments and other law enforcement agencies, Tregoning said. As an added benefit, accreditation will reduce the sheriff?s liability costs ? insurance companies recognize the extra effort and charge lower rates for accredited agencies, Tregoning said.
If it meets the rigorous standards, the sheriff?s office will be among only 26 law enforcement agencies in Maryland withCALEA accreditation, according to the commission?s membership list. All the counties surrounding Carroll ? Frederick, Howard and Baltimore ? have been accredited, Kasten said.
As part of the assessment, CALEA is asking for public comment at an April 24 hearing, or by phone April 23. Comments can be called in to 410-386-2600 on April 23 between 1 and 4 p.m.
