Steven Hougland, Ph.D. Bainbridge State College

 Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) was formed in  awarded accredited status to just 623 agencies.  3% of the nation’s 18,000 policing agencies  a number that has remained static for the last 10 years.  97% of police managers have chosen to not participate in a voluntary process that is arduous, costly, and labor-intensive

 The nation’s six largest police departments are not accredited, and of the 10 largest agencies, eight are not accredited.  New York City P.D. (1), Chicago P.D. (2), Los Angeles P.D (3), Philadelphia P.D. (4), Houston P.D. (5), Washington D.C. Metro Police (6), Dallas P.D. (8), and Detroit P.D. (10).

 Just two of the largest sheriff’s offices are accredited.  The largest non-accredited sheriff’s offices include Los Angeles County S.O. (1), Cook County S.O. (2), San Diego County S.O. (4), Riverside County S.O. (5), Orange County (CA) S.O. (6), San Bernardino County S.O. (7), Palm Beach County S.O. (9), and Sacramento County S.O. (10).

 Some suggestion that accredited organizations differ from non-accredited agencies in identifiable ways  operation of a drug or child-abuse unit  use polygraph exams and pre-employment drug testing  increased calls for service  Improved crime clearance rates  decreased citizen complaints

 "Police agency accreditation endures because it provides a veneer of professional assurance while accepting a wide range in the substance of formal policies, most of which have little consequence for the day-to-day practices of police.... Its greatest significance is in the symbolic realm, not the everyday experiences of the police and the public.”

 most CALEA standards lack substantive content requiring that the agency have a policy leaving the content details to the agency.  accreditation standards emphasize process over outcome and have little impact on the quality and nature of delivered services.

 accreditation has no impact on operational effectiveness  case clearance rates  reducing incidents involving use of force  or the frequency or severity of lawsuits

 CALEA standard states “A written directive requires all complaints against the agency or its employees be investigated, to include anonymous complaints”  All agencies seeking CALEA accredited status are required to comply with this standard.  Sought to examine the effect of CALEA accreditation on reducing citizen complaints.  Used data from the 2007 LEMAS survey  Citizen complaints of excessive use of force.

 2007 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey.  state and local law enforcement agencies employing 100 or more full-time sworn officers and a systematic random sample of smaller departments ( n =3,095)  The final sample included 950 agencies with 100 or more sworn personnel, and 2,145 agencies employing fewer than 100 sworn personnel. The BJS received 2,840 survey responses for a total response rate of 91.8% and an item non-response rate that was generally 0%

 Data listed agencies by name, city, and state  Identified CALEA agencies  Conducted an internet search to locate state accrediting bodies ( n=21 ).  Agencies not credentialed by CALEA but certified by a state-level accreditation process were identified and removed ( n=221 ).  The final sample size for this study was 2,511 agencies  CALEA accredited= 314  not accredited=2,197

 The number of sustained citizen complaints;  The number of not-sustained complaints;  The number of complaints pending completion;  And the total number of all complaints.

 accredited status;  the total full-time employees;  the population of the agency’s service area;  the agency maintains computerized files on use of force incidents;  a civilian complaint review board reviews use of force complaints;  the agency operates an internal affairs unit;  the agency maintains an early warning system;  and the agency provides collective bargaining rights.

 CALEA accredited status is not a significant predictor for any of the models.  Agency size was a significant predictor across most models : sustained, not sustained, and total.  Internal Affairs Unit, civilian review board, and early warning system were significant predictors for not sustained and total.