Citrus County Sheriff's Office receives 5th accreditation

Citrus County, Florida - On July 31, the Citrus County Sheriff's Office was awarded its 5th consecutive national accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) for the Law Enforcement and Communications aspects of the agency. This reaccreditation indicates excellence in public safety and commitment to the community.

A multi-year self-assessment phase was followed by an onsite assessment by CALEA assessors of the agency's policies, procedures, equipment and facilities. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the usual CALEA Conference hearings and banquet were cancelled. However, the agency did go before the commission in an online webinar format, and today (July 31), the CALEA Commission voted to approve reaccreditation of the Citrus County Sheriff's Office.

"Being accredited on the national level shows our commitment to our mission in achieving excellence in public safety," said Sheriff Mike Prendergast. "By continuously maintaining national accreditation, this allows us to be ahead of the newly signed Presidential Executive Order on Safe Policing for Safe Communities. Long before the assessment commenced, our outstanding team of professionals labored intensely to ensure that we met the gold standards established by CALEA. I am extraordinarily proud of our team for all of their hard work in achieving this outstanding milestone."

"This award of accreditation does not come easy," said CALEA President Anthony Purcell, the Chief of Police for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) 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 agency commits to an ongoing review of adherence to CALEA's standards. Each community with CALEA accredited agencies should feel confident that their public safety organization is going above and beyond and operating under the highest standards in public safety."