The Boston Housing Authority Department of Public Safety first achieved national accreditation in November of 1998 and renewed its accreditation successfully in 2001, 2004 and 2007. The Department is one of four agencies in Massachusetts to have national accreditation status. Accreditation is renewed every three years.
Accreditation recognizes an agency or institution as conforming to a body of standards related to a specific discipline. Law Enforcement agency accreditation was designed and developed by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) as a voluntary, non-governmental concept, process and status. It is a process of self-assessment and independent evaluation to meet or exceed nationally recognized standards of operation procedure.
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In order to achieve national accreditation, the Department’s policies, procedures, equipment and infrastructure are reviewed to determine compliance with more than 300 national standards. The standards were designed to:
- Increase law enforcement agency abilities to prevent and control crime;
- Increase agency effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of law enforcement services;
- Increase cooperation and coordination with other law enforcement agencies, and with other agencies of the criminal justice system; and
- Increase citizen and employee confidence in the goals, objectives, policies and practices of the agency.
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Accreditation demonstrates the commitment of the agency to professionalism-in terms of adherence to a body of standards. It also assures the community that its law enforcement agency is committed to a high quality of service and that its policies and procedures are effective and responsive on the one hand, and fair and equitable on the other. Further, the process enhances community understanding of the law enforcement agency’s role-as well as its goals and objectives, promoting community cooperation.
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Accreditation assures the community that its law enforcement agency is committed to a high quality of service and that its policies and procedures are effective and responsive on the one hand, and fair and equitable on the other. Further, the process enhances community understanding of the law enforcement agency’s role as well as its goals and objectives.
To read about BHA on the CALEA website, click here
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