A team of Assessors from the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation will conduct an assessment of the Leesburg Police Department on Dec. 8-10 for the agency’s re-accreditation.
The assessment team’s purpose is to examine all aspects of the department’s policies and procedures, management, operations and support services, said Chief Robert W. Hicks.
Law enforcement agencies must comply with approximately 240 standards in order to receive accredited status. Many of the standards are critical to life, health and safety issues. As part of the assessment, agency members and the general public are invited to offer comments to the assessment team.
A copy of the standards is available through Leesburg Police Department’s Accreditation Manager/Professional Standards commander at (352) 728-9860. For more information regarding the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation (CFA) or for those wishing to offer written comments about the Leesburg Police Department’s ability to meet the standards of accreditation, please write to CFA, P.O. Box 1489, Tallahassee FL 32302 or send an email to info@flaccreditation.org.
The Accreditation Program manager for the Leesburg Police Department is Lt. Gary Barrett. He said the assessment team is comprised of trained law enforcement practitioners from other accredited agencies.
The assessors will review written materials; interview people and make observations of places where compliance can be witnessed. Once the commission’s assessors complete their review of the agency, they
report back to the full commission, which will then decide if the agency is to receive accredited status.
The Leesburg Police Department’s first accreditation was in February 2018 and re-accreditation is for three years. Verification by the team of assessors that the department meets the commission’s standards is part of a voluntary process to gain or maintain accreditation, a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence, Hicks said.
