Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron announced today that a team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) will arrive on Saturday April 14, 2007 to examine all aspects of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office policies, procedures, management, operations and support services.

Verification by the team that the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office meets the Commission’s state-of-the-art standards is part of a voluntary process to gain accreditation – a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence, he said.

As part of the on-site assessment, agency employees and members of the community are invited to offer comments at a public information session on Monday April 16, 2007 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Persons interested in speaking are required to sign-in between the hours of 6:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The session will be conducted in Lecture Room #135 of the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center located at 44219 Airport Road in California Maryland 20619.

If for some reason an individual cannot speak at 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 240-298-3759 on Tuesday April 17, 2007 between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Telephone comments as well as appearances at the public information session are limited to 10 minutes and must address the agency’s ability to comply with CALEA’s standards. A copy of the standards is available in the lobby of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office located at 23150 Leonard Hall Drive in Leonardtown Maryland

Persons wishing to offer written comments about the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office ability to meet the standards for accreditation are requested to write: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), 10306 Easton Place, Suite 320, Fairfax, Virginia 22030-2201.

The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office has to comply with 446 standards in order to gain accredited status, Sheriff Cameron said.

The Accreditation Program Manager for the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office is Deputy Carole L. Allen. She said the assessment team is composed of law enforcement practitioners from similar but out-of-state agencies. The assessors will review written materials, interview individuals, and visit officers and other places where compliance can be witnessed. The assessors are Mr. Kevin C. Simpson of the Hinsdale Police Department in Illinois, Mr. Michael M. Bentolila of the Aventura Police Department in Florida, and Mr. John B. Dankel of the Asheville Police Department in North Carolina. Once the Commission’s assessors complete their review of the agency, they report back to the full Commission, which will then decide if the agency is to be granted accredited status, Deputy Allen said.

Accreditation is for three years, during which the agency must submit annual reports attesting continued compliance with those standards under which it was initially accredited.

For more information regarding the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. please write the Commission at 10306 Easton Place, Suite 320, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030-2201; or call (800) 368 – 3757 or (703) 352 – 4225.