Law Enforcement Accreditation
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Accreditation Standards
What is Accreditation?Accreditation is a way of helping institutions evaluate and improve their overall performance. The key to this successful system lies in the consensus of published and circulated standards containing a clear statement of professional objectives. There are two accreditation programs: Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) program and the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) program. CALEA is a national program for all agencies and WASPC is just for Washington agencies. In 2001 WASPC entered into an alliance with CALEA and adopted their standards as WASPC's.
The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) Accreditation Program is intended to provide law enforcement agencies of this state an avenue for demonstrating that they meet commonly accepted standards for efficient and effective operation. The program is voluntary and is open to all general law enforcement agencies having primary responsibility for the enforcement of Washington criminal and traffic laws. For more information view WASPC's Accreditation information or contact Garry Anderson, Management Services Coordinator ganderson@waspc.org
Additional Resources
- Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) Law Enforcement Accreditation Program
- Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA)
- Accreditation Program Information
- Descriptions of Standards Approved for Publication by the Commission
- Recognition Program Information
- List of Washington CALEA Accredited Agencies (Database search by state)
- CALEA Celebrates 25 Years, by Sylvester Daughtry Jr., Executive Director, CALEA, Police Chief, May 2005
- Local Government Public Information
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