By Sadie Hunter
For more than two years, the Noblesville Police Department has been striving to become an accredited agency, and now, they finally have the certification from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, or CALEA.
In March of this year, CALEA worked one-on-one with the police department to later present an official report to an 18-person commission who would have final say about the department’s accreditation status.
And on July 28, Mayor John Ditslear announced the agency’s success in becoming accredited.
Of the NPD, CALEA required they meet more than 188 standards in areas such has training, community efforts, pursuits, media relations and more. In addition, each of the 188 standards have sub points, all of which must be met to achieve a single standard.
Less than 8 percent of police departments in the country have achieved accreditation status, something agencies began working towards in the early 80s.
The NPD is now the fourth agency in Hamilton County to be accredited by CALEA. Carmel, Fishers and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office are all also accredited.
