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AMERICUS — The Americus Police Department is currently seeking accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. (CALEA), an international law enforcement accrediting agency. The police department began the accreditation process in January 2018, by evaluating the 459 standards contained in the CALEA Law Enforcement Standards Manual. These standards cover all aspects of the operation of a law enforcement agency from organization structure and fiscal management to constitutional requirements and arrest procedures. The department has worked diligently to ensure that their policies, procedures and practices are in compliance with all applicable standards.

The assessment process began the last week of June 2019, when a team of three compliance officers reviewed all of the department’s accreditation files to verify compliance. A team of assessors from CALEA will arrive in Americus on Aug. 4 to conduct an onsite assessment of agency operations to complete the verification process.

As part of the on-site assessment, agency personnel and members of the community are invited to offer comments at a public information session at 5 p.m. Aug. 6 at the Russell Thomas Jr. Public Safety Building, 119 S. Lee St.

If an individual cannot attend the public information session but would still like to provide comments to the assessment team, he/she may do so by telephone. The public may call 229-924-4758 between 1 & 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 6, and speak directly to a team member.  Comments may also be emailed to calea@calea.org.