A public information session will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, at 100 S. Hill St. for members of the community to provide input on the Griffin Police Department (GPD). Those interested in offering their comments may also call 770-229-4763 during the event.

The session is part of an on-site visit by out-of-state assessors who will spend four to five days in town to evaluate whether the GPD will be re-accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

Accreditation by CALEA, which was first given to the GPD in 2006 and must be renewed every three years, requires law enforcement agencies to meet up to 463 professional standards, according to GPD Accreditation Manager Eddie Bogan.

One of these standards, for example, states that every officer with a police car must search his car before and after he carries a prisoner. Another demands that routine patrols can only be conducted with cars that show the agency’s name.

During their time in Griffin, CALEA assessors will review GPD documentation with regard to these standards.

“It’s to prove that we do what we say we do,” said Bogan.

Considering the many different standards to comply with Bogan said, “It’s not an easy task, but we get it done.”

CALEA accreditation is not a requirement for law enforcement agencies. In fact, only 37 agencies in Georgia are accredited by CALEA, which is a small number considering that just each of the 159 counties in Georgia may have several agencies, Bogan said.

However, CALEA accreditation signifies that an agency is being compared to other law enforcement agencies in the United States. According to a news release by the GPD, the goal of CALEA is to establish a national level of standards that encourage law enforcement professionalism.

“The benefit I see (is) it lets the public know that they have an agency that governs itself by proven standards,” said Bogan.

Asked whether critical comments on the GPD during the public information session could negatively impact the assessors’ accreditation decision, Bogan said he doesn’t think so.

“If anything, it helps us become a better agency,” he said.