Bartlett Police Department is an internationally accredited law enforcement agency. The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) is an organization founded by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), National Sheriff's Association (NSA), National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). The Commission has developed a comprehensive set of written standards covering every aspect of law enforcement policies, procedures, practices and operations. These standards were designed to:

• Increase law enforcement agency capabilities to prevent and control crime.
• Increase agency effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of law enforcement services.
• Increase cooperation with other law enforcement agencies.
• Increase employee and citizen confidence in the goals, objectives, policies and practices of the accredited agency.
• Reduce liability to the municipality by requiring an up-to-date policy manual reflecting the best professional practices in law enforcement.
• Hold the agency accountable by regular web-based and site-based inspections and Commission review.

CALEA Accreditation has become the primary method for a law enforcement agency to voluntarily demonstrate its commitment to excellence in law enforcement. The Law Enforcement Accreditation Program standards reflect the current thinking and experience of law enforcement practitioners and researchers. Major law enforcement associations, leading educational and training institutions, governmental agencies, as well as law enforcement executives internationally, acknowledge CALEA’s Standards for Law Enforcement Agencies and its accreditation programs as benchmarks for professional law enforcement agencies. Because this process is so rigorous, only 3% of law enforcement agencies in the United States choose to become accredited. It is a highly valued mark of professional excellence for an agency to voluntarily participate in CALEA, which has over 900 client law enforcement agencies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Bartlett Police Department was awarded its first CALEA accreditation in 1997 and has been re-accredited eight times since then. Annually, a compliance assessor reviews Bartlett’s policies and proofs of compliance using an online compliance system. Every four years, a team of assessors visits Bartlett to ensure it has maintained compliance with applicable standards and lives by the letter and spirit of those standards. The team examines specific areas of focus for the department. In July, 2023, the department underwent its assessment visit and in November, 2023 the department was reaccredited for the eighth time at the CALEA conference in Bellevue, Washington.

The department achieved Meritorious status for having been accredited more than 15 continuous years, and was recognized for Advanced Accreditation status for complying with all applicable mandatory standards. 

For Bartlett, accreditation is a continuous endeavor for excellence and professionalism.
• CALEA accreditation requires the department to develop a comprehensive, well thought out, uniform set of written directives.  This is one of the most successful methods for reaching administrative and operational goals, while also providing direction to our members.
• CALEA’s 462 Law Enforcement Accreditation Program standards provide the necessary reports and analyses the Chief of Police needs to make fact-based, informed management decisions.
• CALEA accreditation requires an emergency preparedness program be put in place—so the department is ready to address natural or man-made unusual occurrences and critical incidents.
• CALEA accreditation is a means for developing or improving upon our relationship with the community.
• CALEA accreditation strengthens our accountability, both within the department and the community, through an internationally recognized set of professional standards that clearly define authority, performance, and responsibilities.
• Being CALEA accredited can limit our liability and risk exposure because it demonstrates that internationally recognized standards for law enforcement have been met, as verified by a team of independent outside CALEA-trained assessors.
• CALEA accreditation facilitates our pursuit of professional excellence.

As accreditation is an ongoing process, we are updating our policies and procedures to comply with the latest changes to CALEA's Law Enforcement Standards Manual. We will undergo our next annual web-based review of our standards compliance in November 2024. Our next site-based review with a CALEA assessor will be in July, 2027.

The public can learn more about CALEA and the accreditation process by visiting https://calea.org/  If you have any questions about the accreditation process at Bartlett Police Department, please contact Accreditation Manager Margret Diaz, at 630.837.0846

The CALEA Review Process

The Bartlett Police Department is an internationally accredited law enforcement agency. Successful accreditation makes a statement to residents, law enforcement colleagues, and other professionals that the Bartlett Police Department meets the very highest standards. The department was first accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) on Nov. 22, 1997 and received re-accreditation status for the 8th time in 2023.

CALEA conducts regular, in-depth reviews of agencies in the accreditation process on a four-year cycle. The Commission conducts annual offsite reviews of the department’s files, including a policy and practices review, proofs of compliance, and an annual Agency Status Report. At the end of the four-year cycle, CALEA sends an assessment team to the department for a multi-day onsite inspection, in advance of a full Commission review and reaccreditation. The Bartlett Police Department is scheduled for its next site-based assessment in July 2027.

If you would like to provide comments, commendations, or other information regarding the Bartlett Police Department’s quality of service or other information relevant to the accreditation process, please visit the CALEA comment portal.  

IMPORTANT: CALEA is not an investigatory body; subsequently, the public portal should not be used to submit information for such purposes. There will be no response other than acknowledgment of submissions; however, the information will be considered in context to its relevancy to compliance with standards and the tenets of CALEA Accreditation.