KHP 2022-27: Kansas Highway Patrol Awarded National Reaccreditation by CALEA
CALEA accreditation is an accomplishment less than five percent of all law enforcement agencies attain
The Kansas Highway Patrol was awarded national reaccreditation of the Law Enforcement Program on July 23, 2022, by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA). The agency was first accredited in 2018.
Following a multi-year self-assessment phase and a meticulous site-based assessment of community engagement, policy, procedures, equipment, and facilities by CALEA assessors, representatives of the Kansas Highway Patrol appeared before a panel of CALEA Commissioners. Each agency being reviewed goes before a panel of CALEA’s 21-member Board of Commissioners, where the commission reviews all findings and determines the agencies’ accreditation status.
“This award of accreditation does not come easy,” said CALEA President Anthony Purcell, Chief of Police for the University of Alabama at Birmingham 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.”
On Saturday, July 23, 2022, the CALEA Commission voted to approve the reaccreditation of the Kansas Highway Patrol. CALEA President Anthony Purcell and Executive Director W. Craig Hartley, Jr. formally award the Kansas Highway Patrol with Law Enforcement accreditation, signifying excellence in public safety and commitment to community. This is the Kansas Highway Patrol’s first reaccreditation award of national accreditation.
“The Kansas Highway Patrol is grateful to obtain this continued recognition from CALEA. Our agency’s personnel consistently strive to seek excellence when it comes to providing professional law enforcement services to the public and our public safety partners,” said Colonel Herman T. Jones, Superintendent of the Kansas Highway Patrol. “Although we have reached this achievement, our endeavor is to continuously serve with integrity and improvement.”
CALEA was created in 1979 as a credentialing authority. The purpose of CALEA is to improve delivery of public safety by maintaining a body of standards, developed by public safety practitioners, covering up-to-date public safety initiatives; establishing and administering an accreditation process; and recognizing professional excellence. There are five steps to the CALEA process, which include: Enrollment; Self-Assessment; On-Site Assessment; Commission Review and Decision; and Maintaining Compliance and Reaccreditation.
CONTACT: Lieutenant Candice Breshears, Public Information Officer, (785) 296-6800
