A few months ago I let the citizens of Bradley County know of our plans to seek accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies, which is commonly referred to as CALEA. Today I want to update you on our progress since that time. I have appointed Jim Hodgson as our accreditation manager. He has been associated with the sheriff’s office for almost 20 years and is completing 33 years in law enforcement.

In recent weeks he has spent a lot of time becoming familiar with CALEA
and we are fortunate to have someone with his knowledge of law enforcement
to lead us though the accreditation process.
As the accreditation manager he will take us through each of CALEA’s five
steps: Application, Self-assessment, On-site Assessment, Commission
Review, and Maintaining Compliance and Re-accreditation. As I have
previously stated this is not something that we can achieve in a matter of
days or weeks. It is a very intensive process that will require a lot of
hard work as we move through each step toward accreditation.
At this time we are working on our application and hope to have it
completed soon. Once it is submitted and accepted by CALEA, the process
begins.
The next phase of the accreditation process is the self-assessment
portion. This will require the most time on our part as we take a look at
each of our policies and procedures so that we in no way conflict with
their established criteria.
The accreditation manager will help us prepare “proofs of compliance ” as
documentation that we comply with those standards as they apply to the
Bradley County Sheriff’s Office.
Some of the standards are mandatory while others are “other than
mandatory” and are assessed based on the size of the law enforcement
agency.
I believe this is going to help the sheriff’s office in several ways.
· Comprehensive, well thought-out written directives,
· Reports and analyses to make informed management decisions,
· Preparedness Program in place,
· Improved relationship with the community,
· Strengthen agency’s accountability,
· Limit liability and risk exposure, and
· Assists in agency’s pursuit of excellence.
Once we receive accreditation there is an annual review process to
continue accreditation. Jim will be involved in that process on a
continuing basis as our accreditation manager.
It is my hope that the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office becomes the fourth
sheriff’s office in the state to receive this certification. Currently,
Washington County, Sullivan County and Blount County Sheriff’s Offices are
accredited by CALEA.
If you would like to learn more about accreditation Jim will be a
guest on my radio broadcast that will air on WBAC at 12:05 p.m. on
Saturday, April 7. Also joining us on the program will be Sgt. W.G.
Campbell to talk about traffic safety.
If you would like to suggest a topic for an upcoming radio
broadcast send it to Bob Gault, our public information officer, by e-mail
to bgault@bradleyco.net, by fax at 473-1505, or he can be contacted at
728-7320.
I want to thank WBAC for giving us a venue to communicate with the
people of Bradley County about their sheriff’s office. The program is
broadcast every other Saturday and I hope you can tune in every
opportunity you have.