CALEA Accreditation

The Waukee Police Department was awarded our initial CALEA Law Enforcement Accreditation on March 23, 2024.  CALEA Accreditation reinforces our commitment to professionalism and setting the standard in service to our community through integrity, respect, and trust.  The Waukee Police Department was the eleventh municipal law enforcement agency in the State of Iowa to achieve Accreditation.

Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement (CALEA)
 
The purpose of CALEA is to improve the delivery of public safety services, primarily by: maintaining a body of standards, developed by public safety practitioners, covering a wide range of up-to-date public safety initiatives; establishing and administering an accreditation process; and recognizing professional excellence.  Accreditation of the Waukee Police demonstrates the Waukee Police Department has set and followed the following goals set by CALEA;

• Strengthen crime prevention and control capabilities;
• Formalize essential management procedures;
• Establish fair and nondiscriminatory personnel practices;
• Improve service delivery;
• Solidify inter-agency cooperation and coordination; and
• Increase community and staff confidence in the agency.

The CALEA accreditation program provides the Waukee Police Department the opportunity to voluntarily demonstrate we meet an established set of professional standards which:

• Require an agency to develop a comprehensive, well-thought-out, uniform set of written directives. This is one of the most successful methods for reaching administrative and operational goals, while also providing direction to personnel.
• Provide the necessary reports and analyses a CEO needs to make fact-based, informed management decisions.
• Require a preparedness program be put in place—so an agency is ready to address natural or man-made critical incidents.
• Are a means for developing or improving upon an agency's relationship with the community.
• Strengthen an agency's accountability, both within the agency and the community, through a continuum of standards that clearly define authority, performance, and responsibilities.
• Can limit an agency's liability and risk exposure because it demonstrates that internationally recognized standards for law enforcement have been met, as verified by a team of independent outside CALEA-trained assessors.
• Facilitates an agency's pursuit of professional excellence.