NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 7, 2000

ACCREDITATION ASSESSMENT TEAM INVITES PUBLIC COMMENT ON CARY PD

CARY, NC – Representatives of the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), will arrive in Cary on Saturday to begin a five-day, comprehensive reexamination of the Town’s Police Department. This reassessment is part of a voluntary process which will allow Cary PD to continue its accreditation with the national organization.

"Receiving accreditation is the most significant achievement a law enforcement agency can accomplish," said Cary Police Chief Windy Hunter. "The team will evaluate every aspect of our program including policies, procedures, management, operations, and support services." In all, Cary PD must comply with 439 standards in order to be accredited.

"Accreditation by CALEA is a prestigious honor that we are proud to have earned," said Cary Police Chief WJ "Windy" Hunter. "Maintaining accredited status is difficult in that it requires us to demonstrate that we have continuously stayed in compliance with each standard over a period of years. The most important result of accreditation is the enhanced level of service provided to the citizens of Cary."

As a part of its on-site assessment, the CALEA team will conduct a public information session during which agency employees and members of the community are invited to offer comments. The session will be held on Monday, August 14^th at 7:00 PM in the first floor meeting room of the Page-Walker Arts & History Center on the Town Hall campus, Ambassador Loop Road. In addition to receiving comments at Monday’s information session, citizens will be able to share comments with the assessment team via a special telephone line-- (919) 319-4514—that same Monday between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM or via e-mail at mstienek@ci.cary.nc.us no later than August 14^th.

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 at the Cary Police Department in the Professional Standards Unit. The local contact is Cary PD Accreditation Manager Marilyn Stieneke.

Individuals wishing to offer written comments about the Cary Police Department's ability to meet the
standards for accreditation are requested to write: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement
Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), 10306 Eaton Place, Suite 320, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030-2201.

The assessors will review written materials, interview individuals, and visit offices and other locations where compliance can be witnessed. This year’s assessors are: Team Leader Michael F. Kelly, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety; Elizabeth A. Kreiter, Chief of the Maryland National Capitol Park Police; and Sharon Borstel, Accreditation Manager for the Nashua, New Hampshire Police Department. Once the Commission’s assessors complete their review of an agency, they report back to the full Commission which then decides if the agency is to be granted accredited status or, in the case of the Cary Police Department, reaccredited status.

According to Town Manager Bill Coleman, "The most meaningful outcome of having the Town’s police department accredited is the enhanced level of service provided to the community. Maintaining accredited status, as Cary PD has done now for the past eight years, is difficult," he added. The Cary Police Department was first accredited in 1992.

Accreditation is for three years, during which time the agency must submit annual reports attesting continued compliance with those standards under which they were initially accredited. For more information regarding the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., please write the Commission at 10306 Eaton Place, Suite 320, Fairfax, Virginia 22030-2201; or call (800) 368-3757 or (703) 352-4225.

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