Accreditation Team To Evaluate Cherokee Sheriff's Office Next Month

Staff Report

A team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA®), will arrive on Aug. 4 to examine all aspects of the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office policy and procedures, management, operations, and support services, Sheriff Roger Garrison announced on Wednesday.

Verification by the team that Cherokee Sheriff’s Office meets the Commission’s state-of-the-art standards is part of a voluntary process to gain accreditation – a highly prized recognition of public safety professional excellence, Garrison stated.

As part of the on-site assessment, agency personnel and members of the community are invited to offer comments during a public information session, which starts at 7 p.m. Aug. 6.

The session will be conducted at the Cherokee County Administration Building & Northside Hospital Cherokee Conference Center located at 1130 Bluffs Parkway, Canton, GA 30114.

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 678-493-4123 on Aug. 5  between 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 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 the standards is available at the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office headquarters, 498 Chattin Drive, Canton, GA 30115. Local contact is Corporal Blakeney at 678-493-4129. 

Anyone wishing to submit written comments about Cherokee Sheriff’s Office’s ability to comply with the standards for accreditation may send them to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, Inc. (CALEA), 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320 Gainesville, VA 20155. 

The Cherokee Sheriff’s Office has to comply with 466 standards in order to gain accredited status, Sheriff Garrison said. 

"In November of 1996 we became one of the first nationally accredited sheriff's offices in the state of Georgia," Garrison added. "National Accreditation is a professional standard achieved by only 3% of law enforcement agencies throughout the country."

Karen Shepard, the CALEA program manager for the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office, said the assessment team is composed of public safety practitioners from similar, but out-of-state agencies. 

The assessors will review written materials, interview individuals, and visit offices and other locations where compliance can be witnessed. 

The assessors are: Deputy Chief Brad Slater and Lieutenant John Dolan. 

Once the CALEA Assessors complete their review of the agency, they report back to the full Commission, which will then decide if the agency is to be granted accredited status, Shepard added.

Accreditation is for three years, during which the agency must submit annual reports attesting continued compliance with those standards under which it was initially accredited. 

For more information regarding the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. please write the Commission at 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320 Gainesville, VA 20155; or call (800) 368-3757 or (703)352-4225or email calea@calea.org.