The First Electric Newspaper (www.firstelectricnewspaper.com) covered a visit by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) to the Huntley Police Department, as CALEA examines Huntley PD for accreditation.
Chiefs from Woodstock and Algonquin P.D. and Sheriff Nygren showed up to say what a "top-notch" outfit Huntley is. Well, duh... what else will they say? And when the CALEA team shows up someday at the McHenry County Sheriff's Department, will the chiefs from Woodstock, Algonquin and Huntley show up with their praise? You betcha!
Is CALEA like ISO 9000? The gold standard? Someone described ISO 9000 to me back in 1995 as the international standard for processes, such as manufacturing. If you wrote down exactly how you were going to manufacture a widget and then followed the process, your widget would turn out exactly as you said it would.
You might be making a piece of junk, but everyone is the world would know that you followed the processes to turn out your best piece of junk.
So, tell me. One of the "processes" at the McHenry County Sheriff's Department should be that reports will be written truthfully by deputies.
And another - deputies will write their reports independently and not be collected in a group and told what to write. Nor will Corrections Officers be herded into a room and told what and how to write their reports.
And another ought to be - supervisors will not alter reports so that they are not truthful reflections of the facts.
Do you really need CALEA for that? Or just good leadership?
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6 comments:
I am always amused when I read in the NWH and DH how the Huntley PD has messed up an investigation. And here they are seeking this accreditation... Amusing...
Someone needs to find out just how much does it cost for the taxpayers to get this accreditaion. Several avenues to investigate.
1.) Cost for more supervisors
2.) Cost to implement the system
3.) Cost to train officers in the system
4.) Cost to maintain the accreditation (We don't pay just once!)
5.) How much do we save in insurance premiums?
6.) Have any Chicago area departments obtained accredidation and then failed to renew it?
7.) Who is in charge of implementing the process. (Look for cronyism and nepitism. You'll be surprised how the people in charge of this process are related to Nygren and the rest of his bunch. Lot of money going to his people.)
8.) Amount of extra paperwork generated. (Speaking of extra paperwork or lack of extra paperwork; the Woods incident was not handled according to CALEA standards. Neither was the Pavlin case. CALEA standards would require a bodily injury sheet be generated. There is no such sheet at the Sheriff's Office. CALEA requires statements from all witnesses. CALEA requires an internal investigatoin be conducted by a internal investigator.) )
(Mike Mahon knows the body sheet I'm talking about with the outline of the person. They use it at Cook County anytime a person is injured in custody or as a result of being taken into custody. They also use it for officer injuries. As do most police departments and correctional facilities.)
The program is not worth the costs. Not for a department that still believes it's the 1960's and is run by a guy that acts (and looks) like Boss Hog from the Dukes of Hazard.
"I'm gonna get them Dukes!"
Calea is just another thing for Frank Philpott to bitch about. Here is a frustrated old man nearing the end of his road with nothing to show for it except exaggerated memories. Now he blogs about the woes of the world and pretends a self importance, meddling into affairs which he no expertise, yet criticizes none the same.
Calea brings with it many benefits. Insurance costs are lower for accredited agencies. Maybe they have a standard on FOIA requests from bloggers……
KeepDiggin, thanks for your excellent comment and your real insight into CALEA.
There is no need for MCSD to come up to the standards of NYPD or LAPD, at least on paper.
If the right leaders are in place and the right training is required and provided and the right people hired, then most of the problems will be avoided.
NOW WE HAVE AN ISSUE
Keepdiggin forgot one thing.
Correctional officers are being required to perform and are being trained in duties that would normally be Deputy responsibility.
Correctional Officers are getting the shaft on this one. They have to endure the training, be up to date on the regulations and paperwork, know how to implement what they have learned, yet they don't receive the same pay as the deputies.
Exactly how aften are the C/O's going to be doing these things? Not very often if at all. Basically the taxpayer is paying for training and regulations that are not applicable to correctional officers.
(Instead of writing endorsement letters for Nygren maybe the correctional officers union representatives should write a grievance. That would cost one of the boys a promotion.)
RPO...what training do they receive that is NOT APPLICABLE?
Would you rather that they return to the days when they were considered GUARDS and paid accordingly? The McHenry CO Correctional Officers have some of the highest salaries in the area and one of the best jail operations in the State. Training and professionalism go hand-in-hand.
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