Accreditation

During 2020, the Lakeland Police Department has successfully retained two national accreditations from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., (CALEA®).  Senior staff accepted the reaccreditations for the department’s overall standards of performance and for their Public Safety Communications operation. The Lakeland Police Department also successfully obtained reaccreditation from the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation (CFA). 

To receive reaccreditation in the CALEA® Advanced Law Enforcement Accreditation Program, the Lakeland Police Department had to comply with 484 internationally accepted standards for the operation of police organizations. The Advanced Program is a more rigorous process than the standard Accreditation Program which requires compliance with only 189 standards.  In April, a team of assessors from CALEA examined all aspects of the Department’s policy and procedures, operations, management and support services to verify they met the Commission’s state-of-the-art standards. The process holds the department accountable and sets the bar for excellence among law enforcement agencies.  In order to obtain the reaccreditation status from CFA, the Lakeland Police Department was required to demonstrate compliance with 54 mandatory standards. In addition to the mandatory standards, the Department also achieved compliance with 20 non-mandatory standards. Proof of compliance was determined by an assessment team, sent by the Commission, during an on-site review on August 22, 2022. During the visit, the team reviewed the department’s policies, procedures and practices.

To receive the reaccreditation for Public Safety Communications, the 911 Emergency Communications team proved compliance with 211 internationally accepted standards. The achievement certifies that the department meets or exceeds benchmarks and professional requirements in critical incidents, special operations including Homeland Security, organization, training, recruitment and operations.

Both CALEA accreditations are valid for four years, at which time the department will again actively participate in a review process for reaccreditation.  For more information on CALEA® accreditation, go to www.calea.org. The CFA accreditation is valid for three years, at which time the department will again actively participate in a review process for reaccreditation. For more information on CFA accreditation, go to www.flaccreditation.org.

ACCREDITATION PUBLIC COMMENT

CALEA maintains an access portal which allows for comment and feedback for agencies seeking reaccreditation status. To provide comments concerning the Lakeland Police Department please visit https://cimrs2.calea.org/274. 

PLEASE NOTE:  CALEA is not an investigatory body and subsequently the public portal should not be used to submit information for such purposes.  Additionally, there will be no response other than acknowledgement of a submission; however the information will be considered in context to its relevancy to compliance with standards and the tenets of CALEA Accreditation. 

CALEA Accreditation

www.calea.org

CFA Accreditation 

www.flaaccreditation.org