LITTLE ROCK — After a three-year wait, the North Little Rock Police Department became just the seventh law-enforcement agency in Arkansas to achieve accreditation from the nation’s most prestigious law enforcement association.
On Saturday morning, North Little Rock Police Chief Danny Bradley sat before a panel from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. in Garden Grove, Calif., where he fielded questions in the final step of a process that began in October of 2007.
Bradley said the process of accreditation may be complete but his department will be subject to re-evaluation every three years.
“It’s a big commitment but [applying] was important for our department,” Bradley said. “There’s a real value to compare what you’re doing to a high set of national standards.”
The organization was founded in 1979 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the National Sheriffs’ Association and the Police Executive Research Forum to develop a standard set of benchmarks and policies evaluated by top law enforcement professionals.
Bradley said that North Little Rock had to meet the 380 mandatory standards, as well as nearly a 100 other standards, dictating such policies as a department’s use of force, its community outreach, and its internal management and administration.
“It’s important not to get caught up in your own little world and know what excellence is expected,” Bradley said. “So internally it’s important to know how you’re doing... but externally, it lets the city know they have a police department that meets a national standardof excellence.”
Of the about 16,000 law enforcement agencies in the country, roughly 10 percent have been accredited through the commission.
Although it’s only the seventh Arkansas police department to meet organization’s professional standard, the North Little Rock Police Department is the state’s second largest agency, with nearly 200 officers, to gain accreditation.
Bradley said that it was time for his department to officially meet the accreditation standards. Nearly a quarter of law enforcement agencies are in the process of accreditation through the organization, and Bradley thinks that the trend will continue.
“It’s becoming more and more valuable for a department to be [CALEA accredited],” Bradley said. “As it’s going, it’d be a negative for a department our size not to be accredited.”
Inspectors from the organization were in North Little Rock in July observing every aspect from the department, and watching to see if North Little Rock had improved the security in its sub-stations, as well as streamline their datareporting processes, areas where the department was lacking, Bradley said.
The organization does not offer any tangible monetary benefits, Bradley said. But in various court-rulings, law-enforcement agencies with certification are less likely to be hit with expensive liability suits, which reflects a higher professional standard, according to Bradley.
Other than Little Rock and North Little Rock, other accredited agencies include police departments in Conway, Fort Smith, Jonesboro and Rogers.
North Little Rock will have to pay a $3,735 fee for recognition, as well as an annual continuation fee of $715 to the organization.
Arkansas, Pages 20 on 11/24/2010