The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | May 2012
Updates to the NJSACOP Accreditation Program Harry J. Delgado, NJSACOP Accreditation Program Manager
As most of you likely know by now, the NJSACOP Law Enforcement Accreditation Program is in the process of transitioning from our previous arrangement with CALEA. For the past several months, a group of experts in the field of law enforcement accreditation have worked to develop a set of standards specifically designed to best suit the needs of law enforcement agencies in New Jersey.
The next step in the process was a review of the standards by the members of the NJSACOP Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission. There are thirteen (13) appointed Commissioners, who were divided into five (5) subcommittees, and along with other members, each was charged with the review of one chapter.
The Commission Chairman, Chief Glenn Miller, has overseen the review process, as well as the adoption of the final version of the standards. Release of the proposed new standards is anticipated to occur in June. Finally, the Commission Chair, NJSACOP Executive Director, and NJSACOP Accreditation Program Manager will complete a revised and final draft. The final draft will be presented to the full Commission for adoption at the Fall Accredita- tion Review Board Meeting.
Finally, to assure a seamless transition for our member agencies to the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police Law Enforcement Accreditation program we have developed the following guide:
Agencies that are in their initial (first time) self-assessment for both the CALEA Recognition Program as well as the NJSACOP Accreditation Program will have until December 31, 2012 to have their official on-site assessment in order to obtain the CALEA Recognition certification. December 31, 2012 is the absolute deadline. After that date, agencies will only be accredited through the NJSACOP Accreditation Program after they have transi- tioned to the new NJSACOP Accreditation Program standards (see section below on transitioning).
Agencies that are in their initial (first time) self-assessment for only the NJSACOP Accreditation Program will have until December 31, 2012 to have their official on-site assessment under the current standards. They do not have to keep their policies, accreditation files (including the CACE-R program) current regarding CALEA Change Notices beyond change notice 5.12 (dated 12/16/2011). If an agency is unable to have their initial offi- cial on-site assessment prior to December 31, 2012 they should see the section below on transitioning to the new standards and follow the procedures outlined there.
Transitioning:
Agencies that are unable to have their initial official on-site assessment prior to December 31, 2012 will have to begin to transition to the new NJSACOP Accreditation Program as soon as it is released.
Agencies that are in a re-accreditation cycle will have to begin transitioning to the new NJSACOP Accreditation Program as soon as it is released and have their next official on-site assessment under the new program.
All agencies will be provided with a copy of the following upon release of the new program:
A copy of the new standards manual. A copy of the new program administrative manual. A copy of labels for the new standards. A crosswalk from the existing program to the new program. Training to help make the transition to be held in each region of the state; North, Central, and South.
I would like to thank the New Jersey Public Safety Accreditation Coalition for their assistance as we approach this transition to the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police Law Enforcement Accreditation Standards.
As always feel free to reach out to me via email at
hdelgado@njsacop.org or by phone at 856-988-5880. 19
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