Standard-Bearer
The Department of Criminal Justice Training continues to achieve high standards, as it was reaccredited in March by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).
It marks the seventh time DOCJT has received reaccreditation since first accredited under the Public Safety Training Academy standards in 2003. DOCJT was the first law enforcement training academy in the nation to receive that honor.
“The reaccreditation is a testament to DOCJT’s commitment to training Kentucky’s law enforcement officers using the best practices and processes available,” said DOCJT Commissioner Nicolai Jilek. “We have a wonderful staff of instructors and support personnel, and the reaccreditation couldn’t have been done without them.”
Enhanced Reputation
In 2006, DOCJT was honored as a CALEA flagship agency, a standard maintained to this day.
“As the first academy to receive this accreditation, DOCJT has demonstrated for nearly two decades a commitment to excellence in the way it trains law enforcement personnel in the Commonwealth,” DOCJT Staff Advisor Patrick Miller said. “The reaccreditation process confirms that DOCJT’s policies, practices, and processes either meet or exceed internationally accepted public-safety standards and create a higher accountability level within the agency.”
Miller also added that the CALEA accreditation enhances DOCJT’s reputation, allows the agency to justify specific budget requests, and helps enhance public safety throughout the Commonwealth through access to updated training policies and procedures.
The reaccreditation assures that the quality of training meets the highest standards, Miller said.
“CALEA accreditation is something that clients don’t overtly see but instead reap the benefits,” he explained. “Clients who take our training are assured that the policies, processes and practices used to create the training courses are analyzed, designed, developed, implemented and evaluated within the highest international standards. CALEA standards also help assure that appropriate instructional techniques, facility management, student records, and student safety are maintained at high levels.”
While its roots are firmly planted in the United States, CALEA has an international reach.
CALEA began in the United States through the joint efforts of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP); National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) in 1979. Since then, CALEA has accredited law enforcement agencies in Canada (1988), Caribbean Islands nations (1997) and Mexico (2007).
Team Effort
Miller credited the entire DOCJT staff, including highlighting those in the Staff Services and Planning Section, for the countless hours of work to make reaccreditation possible.
“After accreditation, the agency begins a yearly self-assessment process, which requires us to review our policies, practices and processes to assure they remain in compliance with CALEA standards,” he said. “This requires ensuring that our accreditation team reviews the 159 standards and can show documented proof that the agency is meeting these standards. The accreditation team has to communicate with every area within DOCJT to request and obtain documents and other proofs of compliance.”
Rachel Lingenfelter, supervisor of the Staff Services and Planning Section, said CALEA is a top priority for her section.
“Reaccreditation is not a program that can be completed in a week; it takes all year,” she said. “We are continually collecting documentation from every section within the agency. Our staff review each proof for compliance, making sure the documentation is within the correct time frame, and the appropriate policy and procedures are followed.”
Accreditation is earned in four-year cycles. DOCJT must submit annual reports and participate in web-based yearly assessments attesting to continued compliance with those standards under which it was initially accredited.
Every four years, CALEA sends an assessment team to verify proof of compliance and observe key components of the agency’s processes and procedures related to CALEA standards.
“These assessors compile a report provided to the CALEA council who determines whether the agency has met the requirements for reaccreditation,” Miller explained. “At that point, a new reaccreditation cycle begins.”
A virtual, site-based CALEA assessment team began examining DOCJT policy and procedures, management, operations and support services in November 2021. Verification that DOCJT met the Commission’s state-of-the-art standards is part of a voluntary process to gain accreditation.
Miller stressed that the reaccreditation wouldn’t have been possible without each employee’s work at DOCJT.
“By following agency policies, procedures and processes, these employees demonstrate what we can only showcase through documentation of their work,” he said. “Everyone needs to understand CALEA is not something we throw pieces of paper at to meet reaccreditation requirements. It is just documenting the high-quality professional standards that all DOCJT employees exemplify daily.”
