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| SHERIFF INVITES PUBLIC COMMENT DURING REACCREDITATION PROCESS |
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DEKALB SHERIFF’S OFFICE INVITES PUBLIC COMMENT
DURING LAW ENFORCEMENT REACCREDITATION PROCESS
Decatur, GA – The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office (DKSO) will undergo an on-site review for reaccreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) on August 19 – 23, 2006.
The public is invited to provide comments regarding Sheriff’s Office services during a public information session Monday, August 21, 2006, at 7 p.m. The session will be held at the Decatur Public Library in the meeting room. The CALEA assessment team will also accept comments by telephone on Tuesday, August 22, 2006, from 9 a.m. until noon. The number is (404) 298-8146. Written comments should be mailed to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., 10302 Eaton Place, Suite 100, Fairfax, VA 22030-2215.
Public comments at the information session and by telephone will be limited to 10 minutes per speaker or caller and must address compliance with CALEA standards by the agency’s Field, Court, and Administrative Services divisions. Citizens can get a copy of the standards at the Sheriff’s Office or by contacting the accreditation manager at (404) 298-8146.
The Field Services Division is DKSO’s law enforcement arm and consists of several units.
Field Division deputies serve warrants for murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, kidnapping, child molestation, rape and other crimes. The Fugitive Unit locates, apprehends and extradites fugitives from justice. The Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team handles high-risk situations that present a potential for death or serious injury. The Domestic Violence Unit is involved with the apprehension of persons charged with acts of family violence and serves Temporary Protection Orders (TPOs) issued by the Superior Court. Domestic Violence
Unit deputies also provide emergency transportation to shelters for battered women and their children and provide safety assists in court-ordered domestic violence spousal evictions. The Warrant Unit receives and processes criminal warrants and reports of arrests by the Sheriff’s Office.
In addition, the Field Division is responsible for transporting inmates to jails, medical, mental health and detention facilities. This division aggressively maintains the county’s Sex Offender Registry.
The Court Services Division provides security for the DeKalb County Courthouse complex for Superior, Probate, Juvenile and Recorders courts. Court Division deputies protect more than thirty judges in the various courts, as well as citizens and employees who enter the buildings. Annually, Court Division employees process and serve more than 8,000 civil processes/documents generated by DeKalb County’s courts, U.S. District Courts, and Superior Courts throughout the United States. This division also monitors the activities of bonding companies serving DeKalb County.
The Administrative Services Division provides five areas of support to the overall operations of the Sheriff’s Office, including human resources, serving approximately 700 employees, fiscal affairs, supply, information systems, and mail processing.
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office achieved Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) accreditation in July 2000 and was reaccredited in April 2003. A CALEA examination constitutes a stringent peer review. Each accredited agency must undergo a reassessment once every three years to maintain accreditation.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, National Sheriffs' Association, and Police Executive Research Forum created the Commission in 1979. Their purpose was to establish and administer an accreditation process through which law enforcement agencies could demonstrate voluntarily that they meet professionally recognized criteria for excellence in management and service delivery.
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