A team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) will arrive August 17, 2014, to examine all aspects of the Port of Seattle Police Department’s policy and procedures, management, operations and support services.
To gain recognition as a CALEA accredited agency, the Port of Seattle Police Department must show that it has set forth agency-wide policies, procedures and practices that meet specific, industry standard criteria. These standards reflect the best practices in contemporary law enforcement today.
Verification by the assessment team that the Port of Seattle Police Department meets the Commission’s state-of-the-art standards is part of a voluntary process to gain national accreditation. National accreditation is a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence, which only 2% of police agencies nationwide possess. In Washington State, just 8 out of 269 law enforcement agencies are CALEA accredited.
As part of the on-site assessment, Port of Seattle employees and members of the community are invited to offer comments to the assessment team at a public information session to be held on Monday, August 18, 2014 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM. The session will be conducted in the Beijing Room of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Conference Center located at 18600 Pacific Highway South, SeaTac, WA 98058.
Port of Seattle employees and the public are also invited to offer comments to the assessment team by calling (206) 787-7565 on Sunday, August 17, 2014 between the hours of 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM
Telephone comments as well as appearances at the public information session are limited to 10 minutes each and must address the agency’s ability to comply with CALEA standards. A copy of the standards is available at the Port of Seattle Police Department Office. The local contact person is Accreditation Manager Sgt. Jason Coke, 206-787-6420.
Persons wishing to offer written comments about the Port of Seattle Police Department’s ability to meet the standards for accreditation should write to: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320, Gainesville, Virginia, 20155.
