The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), was formed in 1979 to establish a body of standards designed to:

• Increase Law enforcement agency capabilities to prevent and control crime.
• Increase agency effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of law enforcement services.
• Increase cooperation and coordination with other law enforcement agencies and with other agencies of the criminal justice system.
• Increase citizen and employee confidence in the goals, objectives, policies, and practices of the agency.

In addition, the Commission was formed to develop an accreditation process that provides law enforcement agencies an opportunity to demonstrate voluntarily that they meet an established set of professional standards.

The Commission began accrediting police agencies in 1986. Initially, accreditation was awarded to agencies for a period of 5 years, after which agencies must reapply and be subjected to the reassessment process. Currently this process is done every 4 years.

The Wheeling Police Department was first Accredited in November of 1990 and has been reaccredited since then with our most recent accreditation in November 2019.

CALEA PUBLIC COMMENT PORTAL

Anyone wishing to provide comments regarding our agency's compliance with CALEA standards, engagement in the service community, delivery of public safety services, and overall candidacy for accredited status, may provide comments to CALEA through the Public Comment Portal.

These comments can be in the form of commendations or concerns. The overall intent of the accreditation process is to provide our agency with information to support continuous improvement, as well as foster the pursuit of professional excellence.

IMPORTANT: CALEA is not an investigatory body and subsequently the public portal should not be used to submit information for such purposes.  Additionally, there will be no response other than acknowledgment of submissions; however, the information will be considered in context to its relevancy to compliance with standards and the tenets of CALEA® Accreditation.

Press Release: The Wheeling Police Department Maintains National Law Enforcement Accreditation by CALEA

The Wheeling Illinois Police Department was awarded national accreditation on November 16, 2019 by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) in the law enforcement program.

Following a multi-year self-assessment phase and a meticulous site-based assessment of community engagement, policy, procedures, equipment, and facilities by CALEA assessors, the Wheeling Police Department’s Chief James J. Dunne, Accreditation Manger / Deputy Chief Joseph Licari, Commander Michael Conway, and Crime Analyst Veronica Salazar attended the CALEA conference in Covington, Kentucky. Each department being reviewed, goes before CALEA’s 21-member Board of Commissioners where the commission reviews all findings and determines the agencies’ accreditation status.

CALEA President Richard Myers and Executive Director Craig Hartley awarded the Wheeling Police Department with accreditation, signifying excellence in public safety and commitment to community. This is the Wheeling Police Department’s Ninth receipt of national accreditation.

“This award of accreditation does not come easy,” said CALEA President Richard Myers, Chief of Newport News Police Department. “Agencies must go through a rigorous review and evaluation of their organization and then implement the necessary policy and procedure changes. The process does not stop at that point. By voluntarily choosing to seek CALEA accreditation, the Wheeling Police Department commits to an ongoing review of adherence to CALEA’s standards. Each community with CALEA accredited agencies should be feel confident that their public safety organization is going above and beyond and operating under the highest standards in public safety.”

This event was particularly special in that the department also earned two additional award designations: the Accreditation with Excellence award and the Meritorious Award. The intent of the Accreditation with Excellence Award is to provide agencies an opportunity to be further recognized for the effective use of accreditation as a model for the delivery of enhanced public safety services and management professionalism. Regarding the Meritorious Award, CALEA accredited agencies are recognized for having been accredited for 15 or more continuous years. The Wheeling Police Department was first accredited in 1990. The department remains accredited, adhering to an established set of professional standards based on industry best practices further ensuring confidence in the Wheeling Police Department’s ability to operate efficiently and effectively to meet the community’s needs.