On May 4, 2019, the Salem Police Department was officially accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement (CALEA) in Huntsville, AL. In order to receive this national accreditation the department had to demonstrate compliance with over 180 CALEA standards.

By participating in the CALEA process, we believe we have improved the quality of the services provided to our community, according to Chief Mike Crawley. Also with accreditation comes higher level of scrutiny and accountability not only to ourselves but to the citizens we serve.

Sergeant Todd Cheyney serves as the Accreditation Manager for the Salem Police Department. Chief Crawley states CALEA is considered the “gold Standard for public safety” and Sgt. Cheyney has done a great job in helping the department achieve this goal. The department will move 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.

CALEA serves as the premier credentialing association for public safety services for law enforcement organizations. A board of 21 commissioners who represent a large field of public safety leadership develops the standards. CALEA is an independent, non-profit organization established in 1979 to develop to set a law enforcement standards designed for local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to improve services in the Unites States, Canada and Mexico.

Public Portal for comments.

The purpose of this public comment portal is to receive comments regarding an agency's compliance with CALEA standards, engagement in the service community, delivery of public safety services, and overall candidacy for accredited status. These comments can be in the form of commendations or concerns. The overall intent of the accreditation process is to provide the participating agency with information to support continuous improvement, as well as foster the pursuit of professional excellence.  

IMPORTANT: CALEA is not an investigatory body and subsequently the public portal should not be used to submit information for such purposes.  Additionally, there will be no response other than acknowledgment of submissions; however, the information will be considered in context to its relevancy to compliance with standards and the tenets of CALEA® Accreditation.

Click the following link to be taken to the CALEA public portal: https://cimrs2.calea.org/537.