[Archived] Sheriff’s Office Earns Law Enforcement Reaccreditation from CALEA

For Immediate Release: July 27, 2015

Alexandria Sheriff Dana Lawhorne is proud to announce that the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office has been reaccredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA). The Office received its formal reaccreditation at a ceremony Saturday, July 25, during CALEA’s summer conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

As part of the reaccreditation process, CALEA assessors visited the Sheriff’s Office in April for a three-day on-site assessment to examine the Office’s policies and procedures, management, operations, and support services related to law enforcement. While the Alexandria Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency for the City of Alexandria, the Sheriff’s Office does have law enforcement responsibilities, serving as a secondary responder with its primary mission of operating the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center, managing courthouse security, transporting prisoners, and serving legal process and warrants.

The CALEA assessors evaluated the Sheriff’s Office on its compliance with more than 300 standards related to law enforcement. In its very favorable assessment report, the CALEA assessment team noted that the Office is a “proactive agency geared towards working with the community, surrounding law enforcement agencies, municipal government, and city leaders. In the face of budgetary and personnel constraints the agency has been successful in adopting innovative approaches to effectively serve the community.”

CALEA first accredited the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office in July 1990 and the Office has been reaccredited every term since then. The Office is also accredited by the American Correctional Association and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care and certified by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and the Virginia Department of Corrections.

For more information, contact Accreditation Manager Debra Defreitas at 703.746.5027 or debra.defreitas@alexandriava.gov.