Purpose of CALEA?

[LINY]

What is the purpose of an Agency being accredited by CALEA? What benefits does it bring besides being able to say that you're accredited by another acronym agency? It's not like you need to be accredited. I became curious after seeing this...:



Who cares? Does it really bring any benefits?

[ateamer]

Its purpose is to make money for the people who own CALEA. It is not a government agency, so their accreditation doesn't mean diddleysquat.

[equinox137]

Sort of like what ACA is for Corrections.

[PtlCop]

Its purpose is to make money for the people who own CALEA. It is not a government agency, so their accreditation doesn't mean diddleysquat.

I wouldn't say it doesn't mean anything. It certainly helps, in an indirect fashion, in court a lot. The policies and "best practices" that they require typically ensure that officers, unless they're acting so far outside the lines of reasonableness, are covered. It also, from an HR standpoint, makes you have your ducks in a row, as to the labor laws of your state, when you have to terminate people.

It may not make a difference on the street, but it's not meant to, it's meant to ensure that your agency is set up for success.

[westside popo]

There's another thread about CALEA.

In a nut shell agencies that are CALEA certified tend to have better pay, better and or up to date equipment than non-CALEA agencies. It also, atleast in theory, helps limits the agency's liability.
The down side is SOPs on EVERYTHING and you do more paper work. They also tend to restrict pursuits.
This may not always be true be it seems to be the case in my area of my state.

[PtlCop]

There's another thread about CALEA.

In a nut shell agencies that are CALEA certified tend to have better pay, better and or up to date equipment than non-CALEA agencies. It also, atleast in theory, helps limits the agency's liability.
The down side is SOPs on EVERYTHING and you do more paper work. They also tend to restrict pursuits.
This may not always be true be it seems to be the case in my area of my state.

To my knowledge, the SOP's don't restrict anything, they're simply a model for HOW to do them. Our pursuit policy is just the same as it was before CALEA, and it's not very strict at all.

[Surf]

There are many benefits, some already posted. Your average guy on the street may or may not see the benefit up front. However it can lead to better equipment, ongoing training, grant ability, hiring and contract negotiations, addressing potential liability concerns, and it may also set a guideline in which officers are managed by the admin. Is it a PITA to get the accreditation? Yes, but if it was easy it wouldn't mean as much.

CALEA doesn't dictate policy or create policy, it just sets a guideline or a format to follow once policy is dictated by the agency. Same with lesson plans, etc.... It can make for a better situation when litigation is concerned and other situations arise. I also find that it may give more leverage to the Officers union in how the dept deals with Officers.

[StalkerCop]

Purpose of CALEA:

To give our light duty officers something to do.
To give our officers a reason not to go on light duty.
To give admin something to throw down our throats.
To give us all something to look forward to every three years.

[LINY]

Thanks for the replies everyone. It doesn't seem like it benefits administration IMO, but if you're in a backwater PD with old equipment and they're chasing after it it would be a benefit to the Officers who get the new stuff.

[just joe]

Job security for ex-chiefs who otherwise would be unemployed.

[On The]

I too thought it was to provide jobs for retired police admin types.

[deputy x 2]

Bragging rights?

The mucky mucks run around a month prior to the inspection to make sure their I's are dotted and T's crossed. Inspection day...is like the plague...no one wants to be the one that gets questioned. Stay out of the station til it's time to go home.

Remember they say,"CALEA is NOT an STD!!!!"

[Rush817]

Isn't it very expensive?

[nonickname69]

What is the purpose of an Agency being accredited by CALEA? What benefits does it bring besides being able to say that you're accredited by another acronym agency? It's not like you need to be accredited. I became curious after seeing this...:



Who cares? Does it really bring any benefits?

It's someone else to sue when you are suing a agency.

[PhilipCal]

If CALEA Accreditation amounted to better pay, better working conditions, better benefits, better equipment, I'd be all for it. What it does is require an agency (for accreditation) to have a written policy and procedure for virtually aspect of officer/agency activity. You could very easily violate some article of policy while pumping gas. I'm not implying that an agency shouldn't have written policies and procedures, but they need to be specific to the agency concerned, and not to some "one size fits all" entity. Just my .02