Accreditation
Police agencies in Delaware are comprised of one to 725 sworn officers. Most of the larger agencies are members of The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., (CALEA®) and receive national accreditation through that agency.
Most of the smaller agencies do not have the funding required or the personnel resources to participate with CALEA® desire a process whereby they can achieve state accreditation.
Since the enactment of HB 206 all non-CALEA Delaware Law Enforcement agencies have been working diligently towards DPAC Accreditation.
All agencies are required to achieve national or Delaware accreditation by 2028.
Benefits of Accreditation
- Improves officer and public safety
- Addresses high risk management issues
- Promotes operational efficiency through policy development
- Provides a norm for the agency to judge its performance
- Provides a basis to correct deficiencies before they become public problems
- Requires agencies to commit policies and procedures to writing
- Promotes accountability
- Verifies compliance
- Provides a means of independent evaluation of agency operations
- Minimizes an agency’s exposure to liability
- Potentially reduces liability insurance costs
- Enhances the reputation of the agency, thereby attracting the best qualified candidates for employment
- Increases public confidence
