Pioneer Press Online (Illinois)
A team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. beginning Saturday are scheduled to examine all aspects of Northlake Police Department’s policies and procedures, management, operations and support services.
Verification by the team that Northlake meets the commission’s state-of-the-art standards is part of a voluntary process to gain national recognition, which Northlake Police Chief Dennis Koletsos said is a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence.
Northlake was awarded such certification in April 2002.
As part of the on-site assessment, agency employees and residents are invited to call in on a telephone line dedicated to community comments and offer comments at a public information session from noon to 3 p.m. Monday. The community comments telephone line can be reached at (708) 531-5756.
Telephone comments for the public information session are limited to 10 minutes and must address the agency’s ability to comply with its standards. A copy of the standards is available in the lobby of Northlake police station. The local contact is Deputy Chief Norman Nissen Jr. or Koletsos.
Those wanting to offer written comments about Northlake Police Department’s ability to meet the standards for accreditation are asked to write Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc., 10306 Eaton Place, Suite 320, Fairfax, VA, 22030-2201.
Northlake Police Department must comply with 95 standards in order to gain recognition status, Molests said.
“Gaining National Recognition through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies assures our citizens that their Police Department is operating at a high level of efficiency,” Molests said. “Using these standards as a guideline, the department is able to reduce insurance and liability costs as well as provide a high level of service to our citizens and other law enforcement agencies.”
The recognition program manager for Northlake Police Department is Nissen. He said the assessment team is composed of law enforcement practitioner for similar but out-of-state agencies.
The assessors will review written materials, interview individuals and visit offices and other places where compliance can be witnessed.
Once the commission’s assessors complete their review of the agency, they report back to the full commission, which will then decide if the agency is to maintain recognition status, Nissen said.
Recognition is for three years during which the agency must submit annual reports attesting continued compliance with those standards under which it was initially recognized.