We are fortunate to enjoy superior safety services in UA, but it’s not a fluke. Residents place a high level of importance on the provision of quality police, fire and emergency medical services when asked in community and Police Division surveys. As a result, the City has made a conscious effort to make sure our safety services have the resources and training they need to be among the best in the region.

Much effort is required to keep up with the evolving challenges and opportunities associated with providing relevant, first-rate safety services. For Police, criminal activities take advantage of societal shifts and technological advancements, so it’s important that the division keep current with these changes and the community’s needs.

National certification from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) provides an invaluable measurement tool to confirm the division is meeting the highest standards of law enforcement. The benefits of being an accredited agency includes greater accountability within the agency, reduced risk and liability exposure, stronger defense against legal lawsuits, staunch support from government officials, and increased community advocacy.

Specifically, the accreditation program gives law enforcement agencies the opportunity to prove that their practices meet an established set of professional standards set by CALEA. These include maintaining a comprehensive set of written directives, providing reports and analyses necessary for the Police Chief and other division leaders to make informed decisions, and ensuring that programs are in place for times of natural or man-made critical incidents, just to name a few.

In 1993, the division successfully attained its first accreditation, and has been able to retain this important standard since that time.

CALEA provides a portal for the public to provide feedback on agency operations specific to standards compliance. Feedback goes directly to CALEA, who will send a copy to the Chief of Police. Additionally, the comments received will be reviewed by CALEA Assessors as part of the next on-site assessment, which is scheduled to take place in 2024.

We hope you take advantage of this opportunity to share insight on any experiences you have had with our officers or the division. Resident feedback is important to the division, helping to affirm the division’s responsiveness to community needs and issues or to redirect resources to where they are most needed.

CALEA Feedback Portal