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Photo (left-right): DRBA Chairman Jim Hogan, Sgt. Kristen Todd; DRBA Vice Chairman Bill Lowe; Col. Richard Arroyo
New Castle – DRBA Police Administrator Col. Richard H. Arroyo and DRBA Police Accreditation Manager Sgt. Kristen Todd present DRBA Chairman James N. Hogan and DRBA Vice Chairman Bill Lowe with the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) Gold Standard with Excellence Recognition. On November 18, 2017, the DRBA Police Department was unanimously reaccredited before CALEA’s 21-member governing body in Jacksonville, Florida.
Only 5% of all law enforcement agencies in North America are nationally accredited, with less than 1% of those able to achieve the CALEA’s Gold Standard with Excellence Award. In 2011, CALEA introduced the Gold Standard Assessment for agencies to voluntarily seek a higher level of evaluation during the reaccreditation process. The rigorous Gold Standard Assessment focuses not only inspecting compliance files, but also permits on-site inspectors more time observing personnel in the field. The assessment process measures the impact of accreditation on operations rather than simply confirming compliance through a file-by-file review.
The assessors, Chief Stephen Walker (Retired) of the Centerville Police Department (Centerville, OH) and Lieutenant Scott Bronze of the Cleveland Police Department (Cleveland, TN), completed the on-site and field assessments of the department in August.
The DRBA Police Department was first accredited by CALEA in 1996, and has since maintained its accredited status. The last seven (7) accreditations were met with a 100% compliance rating. All agencies participating in the CALEA process are required to submit an annual report to CALEA and were inspected once every three (3) years to ensure compliance with CALEA standards. The new standard requires an on-site assessment every four (4) years, with comprehensive additional reports submitted annually.
Source: Delaware River and Bay Authority