The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office was awarded with its fourth reaccreditation on July 30, 2020 by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA).
The St. Mary’s Sheriff’s Office was first awarded national accreditation in 2007 and was reaccredited in 2010, 2013 and in 2016.
“The citizens of St. Mary’s County can join me with the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office in pride of this agency’s most recent accreditation,” Sheriff Tim Cameron said. “It means that the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office continues to operate at a high level of excellence, meeting and exceeding national and international public safety standards.”
“I’m very proud of our accredited status and I know the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s office will continue to demonstrate to the community that we are committed to the highest standards of professional excellence in law enforcement service,” Jodi Irwin, Accreditation Manager for the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, said.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the usual CALEA conference, where agencies are formally reviewed and awarded in person, was moved online to a virtual format. Sheriff Cameron was joined by Division Commanders last month in the virtual review with CALEA.
The St. Mary’s Sheriff’s Office now moves into CALEA’s four-year cycle that includes four annual remote, web-based file reviews and site-based assessment in the fourth year.
CALEA was formed in 1979 through the combined efforts of four major law enforcement organizations: The International Association of Chiefs of Police, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, National Sheriffs Association and the Police Executive Research Forum.
The benefits of CALEA reaccreditation include controlled and sometimes lower liability insurance costs, stronger defense against litigation and citizen complaints, greater accountability within the Sheriff’s Office, greater support from governmental officials, increased community advocacy and improved employee morale.
