The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Communications Center was awarded national accreditation on Nov. 19 by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies in the communications program.
The agency was first accredited in November 2011.
Following a multi-year self-assessment phase and a meticulous site-based assessment of community engagement, policy, procedures, equipment and facilities by CALEA assessors, HRECC Director Courtney Doberstein attended the CALEA virtual conference. Each agency being reviewed, goes before CALEA’s 21-member Board of Commissioners where the commission reviews all findings and determines the agencies’ accreditation status.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the usual CALEA Conference, where agencies are formally reviewed and awarded in person, was taken online to a virtual format. On Friday, November 19, 2021, the CALEA Commission voted to approve reaccreditation of HRECC. CALEA President Anthony Purcell and Executive Director W. Craig Hartley, Jr. will formally award HRECC with accreditation, signifying excellence in public safety and commitment to community. This is HRECC’s fourth award of national accreditation. The HRECC now moves into CALEA’s four-year Accreditation cycle that includes four annual remote, web-based file reviews and a site-based assessment in the fourth year.
Director Doberstein said “We are honored to be awarded by CALEA and the commissioners with our fourth accreditation. We are proud to have earned this designation through commitment and dedication to our community, our agency, and our profession.This accreditation would not have been possible without the hard work of our entire team and the extra efforts of our Accreditation Manager April Corbin and Operations Team Manager Michael Sherman.”
In 1979, the Commission was created through the combined efforts of four major law enforcement organizations; the International Association of Chiefs of Police, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, National Sheriffs’ Association and the Police Executive Research Forum.
The purpose of the Commission is to develop standards based on international best practices in public safety, and to establish and administer the accreditation process. The accreditation process is how a public safety agency voluntarily demonstrates how it meets professionally recognized criteria for excellence in management and service delivery.
“This award of accreditation does not come easy,” said CALEA President Anthony Purcell, Chief of Police, University of Alabama at Birmingham Police Department. “Agencies must go through a rigorous review and evaluation of their organization and then implement the necessary policy and procedure changes. The process does not stop at that point. By voluntarily choosing to seek CALEA accreditation, the agency commits to an ongoing review of adherence to CALEA’s standards. Each community with CALEA accredited agencies should be feel confident that their public safety organization is going above and beyond and operating under the highest standards in public safety.”
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