The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) is pleased to announce a team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA®) will be evaluating CSPD from Monday, March 8, 2021, to Tuesday, March 9, 2021. During their virtual assessment, the CALEA assessors will examine all aspects of the Colorado Springs Police Department’s policy and procedures, management, operations, and support services to determine if the CSPD continues to meet CALEA’s state-of-the-art standards for law enforcement agencies as part of a voluntary process to gain accreditation — a highly prized recognition of public safety professional excellence.
The CSPD voluntarily participates in this process by complying with approximately 168 standards established by the commission in order to gain accredited status. The standards cover virtually all areas of the department’s operations and administration, including patrol, investigations, communications, finance, recruiting, personnel, and training. The CSPD first became accredited by the commission in 1991, and has maintained this status continuously since that date.
Community Comments
As part of the assessment, department personnel and members of the community are invited to offer comments at a public information session. The session will be held on Monday, March 8, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. at the Police Operations Center, 705 S. Nevada Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903.
Persons who are unable to attend the public meeting and would like to provide comments to the assessment team may do so by:
- Calling (719) 444-7901 on Monday, March 8, 2021, from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 pm. This is an unrecorded line and comments will be taken by assessment team members.
- Persons wishing to offer written comments about the department’s ability to meet the standards may also send them to: CALEA, 13575 Heathcote Blvd, Suite 320, Gainesville, VA., 20155, care of Tim Fitch and Ed Goodman.
- You may also e-mail your comments directly to the CALEA Commission at calea@calea.org. Please put “Colorado Springs (CO) P. D. On-Site” in the subject line.
Please note, all comments must address the department’s ability to comply with the standards. A copy of the standards may be made available upon request. If you would like to review the standards, please contact Larry Herbert, Accreditation Manager for the Colorado Springs Police Department, at Larry.Herbert@ColoradoSprings.gov or (719) 444-7844.
About the Assessment Team
The assessment team is comprised of public safety practitioners from outside of Colorado, who are specially trained in CALEA’s standards. The team members come from agencies that are similar to the CSPD in size and function. The assessors will review written materials, speak with the general public and community leaders, and interview agency employees.
The assessors are:
- Team Leader; Mr. Timothy Fitch, Chief of Police (Ret.), St. Louis County (MO) Police Department, current councilperson, St. Louis County Council, and serves on multiple local and national boards.
- Team Member; Mr. Edward Goodman, Deputy Chief (Ret.), Rolling Meadows (IL) Police Department, current accreditation manager, Buckeye (AZ) Police Department, and has also served on multiple boards.
Review Completion
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. Should the commission award accredited status to the Colorado Springs Police Department; it will be the department’s 10th consecutive award.
For more information regarding CALEA, please visit www.Calea.org.