Citizens Are Invited To Comment On Sheriff's Office Services And Performance During Inspection For Agency Accreditation
Release Number: 09-234
Who:
Sheriff Jim Coats
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.
(CALEA)
10302 Eaton Place, Suite 100
Fairfax, VA 22030-2215
CALEA On-Site Assessment Team:
Chief (Ret.) Thomas Clark, Jr.
Mechanicsville Police Department
Mechanicsville, Virginia
Captain Nancy Dietz
Wilmington Police Department
Wilmington, Delaware
What: A team of assessors from CALEA will arrive Saturday, October 17th to examine all aspects of the Sheriff’s Office policies, procedures, management, operations and support services. The team will work through Wednesday, October 21, 2009. The inspection is part of the agency’s voluntary commitment to maintain national accreditation, which is a highly recognized achievement and acknowledgement of professional excellence. The public is invited to provide input on the Sheriff’s Office performance and compliance with accreditation standards.
Where: See below.
When: See below.
How/Why: As part of the on-site assessment, agency members and citizens are invited to offer comments at a public information session scheduled for 7:00 p.m., on Monday, October 19, 2009. The session will be conducted at the Criminal Justice Center, located at 14250 49th Street North, Clearwater, Florida.
For those persons who cannot attend the public session, they may still provide comments to the assessment team by telephone. The assessors will receive telephone calls from 3:00-5:00 p.m., Monday, October 19, 2009. Members of the public are asked to call 727-582-6033 to speak to an assessor. In each case, citizens will be given 10 minutes to offer their comments, which should address the ability of the Sheriff’s Office to comply with the standards set by CALEA.
Citizens who wish to submit written comments can address them to CALEA at the address listed above.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has to comply with 463 applicable standards in order to maintain its national accreditation status. According to Sheriff Jim Coats, the agency was first accredited in 1988 and has continuously maintained its national status. In fact, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office was among the first in the nation to earn the Triple Crown Award for being nationally accredited in law enforcement, corrections and inmate health care.
Accreditation is for three years, and the agency’s accreditation staff continually submits compliance reports as required.
For more information on CALEA or the accreditation process, please write the commission at the above listed address; call 1-800-368-3757, or 703-352-4225. Inquiries can be emailed to calea@calea.org.
Citizens who wish to review the required accreditation standards, please contact Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Accreditation Manager Deborah Sterling, at 727-582-6391.
For more information on the on-site inspection, please contact the Sheriff’s Public Information Office, 727-582-6221.
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