As a Law Enforcement Officer - Garden Grove

The Garden Grove Police Department underwent
its first CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for
Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.) assessment in
1988 -earning accredited status that same year- and
has successfully maintained its accredited status
ever since. CALEA audits accredited agencies every
three years to ensure the agencies continue to meet
the Commission’s many standards of professional
excellence. In 2010, the Department earned the
Commission’s prestigious Flagship Agency status,
which it will maintain for the duration of the award
period.
The CALEA Flagship Agency Program is designed to acknowledge CALEA-accredited
public safety agencies that have demonstrated success in the accreditation process. The
program also serves to provide other agencies seeking accreditation, with examples of
“best practices” on how to address compliance, policy development, file maintenance,
and other issues relating to the accreditation process.
The CALEA on-site assessment process requires an agency to undergo an in-depth
review of its management, administration, operations, and support services in
comparison to professional standards. The assessment provides an independent,
objective peer review of the agency’s programs and practices, allowing for constructive
feedback for further improvements, and the peer review is an excellent forum for sharing
ideas. The assessors, all experienced law enforcement professionals, bring ideas from
their own agencies and from other agencies they’ve reviewed.
If the agency identifies a deficiency, it creates or revises policies and procedures to correct the situation before a problem
occurs. CALEA standards require the agency to establish a reporting process for monitoring and measuring performance.
This ensures continual growth and improvement, and a method to confirm that an agency is practicing what it has
established in the written directives system.
A Flagship Agency must meet the following minimum criteria:
Must have a minimum of two previous consecutive accreditation awards.
Must not have conditions or noncompliance issues on most recent past award.
Must not have noncompliance issues, or be recommended for conditions on current assessment.
Current Assessment Report must have limited file maintenance and applied discretion issues.
Current Assessment Report must not have issues involving life, safety, and security standards.
• Must not currently be affected by issues that detract from the tenets or goals of accreditation and/or the Flagship Program.
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