• By Ashleigh Sloop
• Posted Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Sheriff's Office Receives CALEA Reaccreditation

Forsyth County Sheriff William T. Schatzman and the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) received its second reaccreditation award from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) in a ceremony in Baltimore, Maryland on July 30th, 2016. The CALEA Accreditation process demonstrates a commitment to professional public safety excellence in both policy and practice. The FCSO is one of only five sheriff’s offices in the state of North Carolina to achieve CALEA accreditation.

At the direction of Sheriff Schatzman, the FCSO began the initial accreditation process in 2009. CALEA accreditation improves service delivery through demonstrating compliance in all areas, including operations, policy and procedure, and support services. Since the initial accreditation award in 2010, the FCSO has continuously pursued a superior standard of professionalism through rigorous training, the use of technology, and continual enhancement of written directives. Sheriff Schatzman believes compliance with national and internationally recognized CALEA professional standards assists the agency in continuing to provide the best possible law enforcement services to the citizens of Forsyth County.

CALEA has established 484 professional performance standards. The applicable standards for a particular agency are based upon the size and mission of the law enforcement agency under consideration. The accreditation cycle lasts for four years, during which the agency must submit annual reports and provide proof attesting to continued standards compliance. For reaccreditation, CALEA Assessors visited the FCSO at the end of March, 2016 and reviewed written material, interviewed individuals, and toured locations where standards compliance could be witnessed and verified.

Present in Baltimore for the hearing before the CALEA Commissioners and to accept the reaccreditation award were Sheriff William T. Schatzman, Sheriff’s Accreditation Specialist Christina Cooley Howell, Captain Josh Foster, and Sheriff’s Citizens Patrol members Mr. and Mrs. Robert and Patty Dalton.