Citizens Can Comment On Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Services In A Special Public Session for Agency Accreditation
Release Number: 09-254
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. These inspections occur every three years.
Agency members and citizens are invited to offer comments on Pinellas County Sheriff's Office services 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.
Where: The public session will be conducted at the Pinellas County Criminal Justice Center, located at 14250 49th Street North, Clearwater, Florida.
When: The opportunity for citizen comments will be Monday, October 19th, starting at 7:00 p.m.
How/Why: 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.
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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