The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has a well established tradition of serving the community with integrity and in a professional manner. To maintain that tradition and continue improving the quality of service the department provides to the community, each and every employee must accept the responsibility for their role in maintaining integrity, quality and high professional standards. The focus of this office is to assure the department is constantly improving whether it is through CALEA reaccreditation, staff inspections, property control audits, and/or revision of our departmental policies and directives. The Professional Standards Unit demonstrates our commitment to the high standards of excellence when dealing with employees of our Department and to the community that we serve.

CALEA
CALEA, The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies; formed in 1979 to establish a body of standards designed to increase law enforcement agency capabilities to prevent and control crime; increase agency effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of law enforcement services; increase cooperation and coordination with other law enforcement agencies and with other agencies of the criminal justice system; increase citizen and employee confidence in goals, objectives, policies, and practices of the agency.

Initial Accreditation

• On-Site December 2004
• Accredited March 2005
  
  During our initial accreditation, CALEA assessors indicated how impressed they were with this department, making sure to commend us for our professionalism and willingness to serve the citizens in our community.
  
  Reaccreditation
  
• On-Site December 2007
• Reaccredited March 2008

During our reaccreditation, CALEA assessors found this department to be "well equipped, well managed, and well respected" within our community.

Current Reaccreditation

• Application
• Self Assessment
• On-Site Assessment
• Commission Review
• Maintaining Compliance and Reaccreditation

Accreditation Status/News
The Professional Standards Unit is currently collecting and preparing documentation for the department's next on-site visit for the CALEA assessment team in December 2010.

More information will be available on the Public Information Session and Telephone Call-in during the assessment, giving the public an opportunity to meet with the assessors to discuss related issues and concerns.

Departmental Policies

• Develop and write departmental policies
• Revise and update departmental policies
• Obtain approval for departmental policies
• Maintain historical records of all directives
  
  Staff Inspections
  
• Coordination of the staff inspection process
• Composition of inspection teams
• Analysis and summary of inspection reports

Property Control Audits

• Obtain current property records/logs
• Verify property/evidence is correctly stored and logged
• Visual inspection of property/evidence

Hazard Communication Program

• Implement new HAZCOM Program and Policy
• Manage and update Material Safety Data Sheets
• Maintain compliance with the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard