The Advancing 21st Century Policing Community Report 2017 The Advancing 21st Century Policing Community Repo | Page 7

Advancing 21 st Century Policing: The Arlington Police Department Report to the Community
POLICY AND OVERSIGHT
Accreditation
Accreditation is a voluntary, internal process by which
agencies seek to achieve, objectively verify and maintain
high quality in their operations. The process involves
periodic evaluations conducted by an independent,
external nongovernmental body who has established
standards for those agencies that participate in the
process. An accreditation is a comprehensive evaluation
of an agency’s policies and how these policies are put
into practice every day.
Residents talk with officers at Donut With A Cop event.
The Arlington Police Department is a model law
enforcement agency.
CALEA: The Gold Standard in Public Safety
The higher standards set forth by the Commission on
Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, also known
as CALEA, help the Arlington Police Department establish
and maintain fair and nondiscriminatory practices,
improve service delivery and boost citizen confidence in
the agency. The Arlington Police Department has been
accredited by CALEA since 1989.
Accreditation with Excellence Awards
The Accreditation with Excellence Award is presented to
model law enforcement agencies for the delivery of
enhanced public safety services. The Arlington Police
Department received the Accreditation with Excellence
Award during the last two reaccreditation cycles which
occurred in 2011 and 2015.
Recognition for Concurrent Accreditation
The CALEA TRI-ARC Award is given to governing bodies
who have achieved concurrent CALEA accreditations for
their law enforcement, public safety communications
and public safety training operations. The City of
Arlington earned the Tri Arc Award with concurrent
accreditations for the Arlington Police Department, the
Arlington Police Training Center and Arlington Police/Fire
Dispatch Communications Center and has maintained
CALEA TriArc Award status since 2009.
Accreditations and awards are a validation of our
department’s commitment to serving the Arlington
community with excellence. These types of recognitions
help to reinforce our investment in the community and our
dedication to equal and fair treatment. Every individual
life has value.
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