Huntsville Police Department Receives Seventh Accreditation Award

Published on August 18, 2016

The Huntsville Police Department officially received its seventh accreditation award recently at the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) annual conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

CALEA is internationally recognized as the leader in law enforcement standards and accrediting.  The Huntsville Police Department is one of only a few agencies in Alabama to be accredited by CALEA, and is in the top 5% nationwide of accredited agencies.  The Huntsville Police Department received its first CALEA accreditation in 1996, and the department is re-evaluated every three years to ensure they are maintaining the high standards established by CALEA.

As part of the accreditation process, CALEA assessors from across the country are granted full access to all areas of the Huntsville Police Department including their policies, processes, records and personnel.  In addition the assessors also hold public meetings to allow citizens an opportunity to give feedback on the quality of service Huntsville Police Department provides. During the process assessors are on site for several days to effectively analyze and review every area of the department.

“Our ability to be recognized by CALEA as one of the top law enforcement agencies in the country is directly attributed to the hard work and dedication of all our employees and the citizens we serve” , said Chief Mark McMurray. The next accreditation process for the department will be conducted in 2019.