Confronting Celebratory Riots with an Accreditation Foundation

The chief of a smaller police department is expected to be knowledgeable about every challenge the police department faces. If the chief cannot confront the issue based on his or her knowledge, then the chief better have an understanding of where to find the answers fast. Yet smaller police agencies do not have the staff to conduct research and then develop and implement a strategy to address unusual challenges. But this limitation does not stop the community from looking to chief for answers and solutions for a multitude of issues. For this reason, the Durham Police Department administration has longed viewed its accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) as an important strategy to help the agency accomplish tasks it isn’t frequently called on to do.