Gainesville PD gets ready for reaccreditation team

GAINESVILLE - For the seventh time in department history, the Gainesville Police Department is gearing up for a review by a team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, INC. (CALEA).

The team is set to arrive November 12, 2012, to examine all aspects of the Gainesville Police Department's policy and procedures, management, operations and support services, according to Chief Brian P. Kelly.

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 November 12, 2012, at 6:00 p.m. The session will be conducted in the City of Gainesville Municipal Court at 701 Queen City Parkway.

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 (770) 297 - 5423 on November 13, 2013 between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 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 these standards is available at the Gainesville Justice Center.

Persons wishing to offer written comments about the Gainesville Police Department's ability to meet the standards for accreditation are requested to write: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, INC. (CALEA), 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320, Gainesville, Virginia, 20155.

Kelly said the Gainesville Police Department has to comply with 480 standards in order to gain accredited status.