LIHU‘E — For the past two years the Kaua‘i Police Department has prepared itself to undergo an arduous process of national accreditation that would essentially streamline standards and policies utilized by law enforcement agencies around the country. The three-year accreditation
LIHU‘E — For the past two years the Kaua‘i Police Department has prepared itself to undergo an arduous process of national accreditation that would essentially streamline standards and policies utilized by law enforcement agencies around the country.
The three-year accreditation process starts from the day of application to final approval by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies at its national conference. The process should begin soon as the Kaua‘i County Council this month approved the $35,000 application fee.
Chief Darryl Perry said KPD will use forfeited funds to pay for other associated expenses related to the CALEA process.
“Simply stated, accreditation of KPD is an ongoing process which ensures that we are directed by ‘best practices’ policies and procedures that are recognized by leading law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, which means better service and efficiency while maintaining accountability,” Perry said.
CALEA provides a blueprint to guide police departments with improving and maintaining operations and community confidence in services. It is designed to strengthen crime prevention capabilities, standardize training, management procedures, personnel policies and interagency coordination.
“CALEA is the most widely recognized national and international accreditation program,” said Deputy County Attorney Justin Kollar, who attended a CALEA conference in Cincinnati, Ohio last summer to prepare KPD to undergo the process. “We believe their accreditation model is the best one out there and is the gold standard.”
Kollar said accreditation is designed to improve efficiency and consistency over the long term.
“It is a move away from the culture of ‘This is how it was always done,’ to a mode where we instead ask ‘What is the best way to get it done?’’’ he said.
An accredited agency has continuity in policies and procedure to reduce the chance of confusion that leads to improvising in operations when personnel transfer or retire, Kollar said. Any mistakes in a high-stakes environment can be expensive and damaging to credibility and trust.
“Law enforcement, in every way, is just about the riskiest thing any government does,” Kollar said. “We are dealing with people’s civil rights on a daily basis and interacting with people who are at incredibly stressful places in their lives.”
Police agencies have found that reducing police-related liabilities is a very sound investment that pays for itself, Kollar said.
Accreditation can help to avoid litigation when department standards and training come into question. He said just one single million-dollar lawsuit will pay for nearly 250 years of accreditation dues.
Perry said accreditation will not necessarily avoid lawsuits, but that it would mitigate the possibility of being sued. There is at least one civil suit filed Nov. 17 pending in Fifth Circuit Court against the County of Kaua‘i, Kaua‘i Police Department, and three officers over a 2009 tazing incident.
“If we are sued, KPD will be protected to some degree by demonstrating due diligence with respect to policy implementation, training, leadership accountability and the like,” Perry said.
During the application process KPD will pay for CALEA personnel to conduct site visits for consultation and review. They report back to the 21 CALEA commissioners, who are current or retired law enforcement professionals, criminal justice professionals, educators, and judicial or elected officials.
“Most have decades of experience in law enforcement as administrators and policy-makers,” Kollar said. “CALEA employs specially trained assessors to conduct the site visits, who also have extensive experience in evaluating and assessing law enforcement agencies.”
Kollar was tasked with the job of conducting the preliminary work to prepare KPD for the accreditation process.
Together with KPD Lt. Jon Takamura and officer Jason Matsuoka, the three have spent the past 23 months on the pre-assessment effort.
The three have worked for several months on reviewing and updating KPD policies and practices, training and procedure files in compliance with CALEA standards. To receive and maintain accreditation, Kollar said there is a huge volume of paperwork to complete.
“For each and every one of CALEA’s nearly 500 standards, KPD needs to maintain an individual file containing documentary or other evidence proving that KPD complies with that standard,” Kollar said. “That is a substantial amount of work.”
KPD will be required to conduct community outreach as part of the accreditation process. The CALEA assessors will seek opinions directly from the public without KPD involvement.
Kollar said that is a good component because all voices are heard, including the naysayers, to show where they need to improve in services, youth mentorship and after-school programs.
“The chief, the senior staff, and indeed the entire department have done a tremendous amount of work over the past five years to build trust with the community and I believe they will continue to do the best job they can,” Kollar said.
The CALEA process does not make judgments on department personnel qualifications or ability to perform their jobs, according to Kollar. It does look at written directives to ensure they are comprehensive and can effectively be followed to the letter.
The process is the same regarding training. CALEA looks for written directives and descriptions of training practices and procedures so to show a sound management practice model.
“There is no monumental paradigm shift,” he added. “KPD has been on a consistent upward direction for the last five years and this is the next logical step in that progression.”
The Maui Police Department decided to undergo accreditation after the idea was introduced by former Chief Howard Tagomori in 1989. MPD was officially accredited on Aug. 3, 1996, and was re-accredited four times since.
The O‘ahu Police Department also has CALEA accreditation.
• Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or by emailing tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
