For the past three years, the Jackson Police Department has focused its attention on one thing.

Staff members spent countless hours sifting through reports and rewriting policies, often working 12-hour days to meet deadlines, all with the single goal of achieving the highest level of recognition for a law enforcement agency.

Receiving accreditation from CALEA, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, would mean the Jackson police have met 459 specific standards.

An assessment team spent Dec. 9 through 11 evaluating every aspect of the police department, from its use of force policies to its standards for using special vehicles.

The lead assessor, police chief Dan Shaw of the Norton Shores, Mich., police department said he will draw up a comprehensive report on the team's findings and forward it to Board of Commissioners.

"The on-site assessment went well, they made some positive comments," said Lt. Rodney Barnes, accreditation manager for the Jackson police.

Barnes said staff members were able to furnish the assessment team with every piece of documentation they requested.

For example, if a police report showed that a juvenile had been arrested, the assessors would ask to see a report showing the parents were notified.

The board will hold a hearing in March to review reports and receive testimony to help them rule on whether to award or defer accreditation to the Jackson Police Department, Shaw said.

If accreditation is deferred, the commission provides an outline of the corrections that need to be made in order for that agency to become fully accredited.

CALEA was established in 1979 as a credentialing authority through the joint efforts of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the National Sheriffs' Association and the Police Executive Research Forum.

Assessors look for aspects crucial to professional law enforcement services such as relationships with other agencies, organization at the managerial and administrative levels, traffic enforcement and prisoner and court related services.

One of the most difficult aspects of the accreditation process has been rewriting existing policies and creating new ones in accordance with CALEA, Barnes said.

"There are policies for things you wouldn't even think of," he said.

"Accreditation through CALEA is about establishing the best law enforcement practices available today," said chief James Humphreys.

Humphreys said he took over the department during a tumultuous period, and he wanted a way to show the community that its police department had adopted the highest standards for policies and procedures available to law enforcement agencies.

At a public hearing held Dec. 10 where residents of Jackson were encouraged to speak up about the police department, city administrator James Roach said he found the department to have become much more professional and accountable under Humphreys than during past administrations.

He also said that as the husband of a school teacher, he was extremely impressed with the school's two resource officers.

During the tornado in 2003, David Hitt, former emergency management director, said the department provided excellent search and rescue services.

If the Jackson Police Department achieves full accreditation, it will be the only Southeast Missouri law enforcement agency other than the State Highway Patrol to do so.

"We've been doing this for three years, and hopefully it'll spark some interest with other agencies," Barnes said.

bdicosmos@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245