GAINESVILLE - The Hall County Sheriff's Office the successful completion of its 3rd reaccreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement (CALEA). This was the third time the agency has received the honor, with initial accreditation in 2004 and reaccreditation in 2007.<br />
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During the week of March 21, Sheriff Steve Cronic traveled to Bethesda, Maryland for the CALEA Agency Review Conference and Awards Presentation where he testified before the CALEA Commission on the accomplishments of the Sheriff's Office.<br />
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Lt. Tammy Crawford was appointed as an Ambassador for the event, with duties that included introducing guest speakers, facilitating presentations, and coordinating with CALEA commissioners and assessors from around the country. <br />
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During the conference, the CALEA commission reviewed a detailed report that was prepared by an independent assessment team that inspected the agency in December of 2010. During that visit, the team inspected the department's performance in numerous areas, and inspected the Sheriff's Office's compliance with 464 individual standards. <br />
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The assessment team, consisting of law enforcement management professionals from out-of-state agencies, spoke very highly of the department. "The motto of the HCSO, 'We Serve and Protect', is truly engrained within the agency," they wrote. "Overall, the department and its members were found to be professional, mission driven, and dedicated to serving the citizens and visitors of Hall County, Georgia." They added, "There were no issues during the on-site (inspection) requiring the attention of the assessment team."<br />
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Sheriff Cronic said of the process, "In 2004, when we decided to accept the challenge of becoming both a state certified and nationally accredited agency, we agreed to submit ourselves to a set of rigorous standards that demand not only a higher level of service and performance from our personnel, but requires that we provide proof of those efforts to an independent body. We allowed them to come in and scrutinize everything that we do. There is not a more stringent set of standards anywhere in the law enforcement profession, and I'm pleased to say that our agency and our personnel have once again rose to the occasion and met those standards. I'm proud of our accomplishments and confident that the citizens of Hall County are receiving the highest quality law enforcement services from our department."<br />
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The Hall County Sheriff's Office is one of only seven Sheriff's Offices in the state of Georgia to achieve both State Certification and National Accreditation.<br />
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Chief Deputy, Col. Jeff Strickland said "Accreditation is our report card to the citizens of Hall County; It brings in independent auditors to review the Sheriff's Office. This extensive audit proves that the Hall County Sheriff's Office is operating under the latest policies and is performing all functions of law enforcement professionally."<br />
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Both Sheriff Cronic and Col. Strickland emphasis that it is the employees of the Hall County Sheriff's Office that deserve high praise for their hard work in ensuring that the we are compliant with CALEA standards.<br />
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Perhaps the highest praise came in the form of an observation from the assessment team leader. "While Sheriff Cronic feels blessed to be Sheriff of Hall County," he wrote, "it is most evident that Hall County citizens are blessed to have the services of Sheriff Cronic and the dedicated members of his staff."<br />
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Inquiries regarding the accreditation process or the department's performance during the assessment may be directed to the CALEA Program Manager, Christie Goddard at (703) 352-4225 or
[email protected].<br />
