Government
Henrico Police receives international award for policing practices
The Henrico County Police Division is only the 17th law enforcement agency worldwide to attain this distinction and just the 16th in the United States.
From the County of Henrico:
On March 25, 2017, the Henrico County Police Division was awarded the distinguished TRI-ARC accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). The presentation took place at the CALEA spring conference in Mobile, Alabama. The Henrico County Police Division becomes only the 17th law enforcement agency world-wide to attain this distinction and just the 16th in the United States.
The CALEA TRI-ARC Award is given to the governing body(s) and agencies that have concurrent CALEA accreditation for their law enforcement, public safety communications and public safety training agencies. The Police Division was originally accredited in 1987. CALEA has re-accredited the Police Division every three years since its initial accreditation.
In 2015, the Police Division’s training academy and communications center each began an eighteen-month process of self-assessment to determine if these two entities could meet the standards for full stand-alone accreditation. In November 2016, in addition to an on-site accreditation for law enforcement, separate teams of out-of-state assessors were sent for a three-day assessment of the policies, procedures, and operations of the training academy and communications center.
On March 25, 2017, Division members testified at a hearing before the CALEA Board of Commissioners to answer questions related to compliance with the standards set forth for each of the three entities. The law enforcement section was awarded its ninth re-accreditation and initial accreditation was conferred upon the training academy and communications.
“This is not something that can be achieved merely by an onsite assessment at the end of a three or four-year assessment cycle. This is something that requires an agency fully embracing the spirit of accreditation by not just developing good policies and practices but by the manner in which we conduct ourselves and carry out our mission on a daily basis; being the best at serving our community and serving our profession. The ability to achieve this milestone is a testament to each and every one of our employees for what they do every day”, said Chief Cardounel.
All three areas will now enter a four-year re-accreditation cycle where the standards will have to be continually applied and conformed with to remain a TRI-ARC agency.
