A team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) will arrive Nov. 28 to examine all aspects of the Newton County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) policies and procedures, management, operations and support services, Sheriff Ezell Brown announced Monday.

Verification by the team that NCSO meets the commission’s state-of-the-art standards is part of a voluntary process to gain accreditation — recognition of public safety professional excellence — Brown said. As part of the assessment, agency personnel and members of the community are invited to offer comments at a public information session on Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. The session will be conducted in the NCSO training room located at 15151 Alcovy Road.

If for some reason an individual cannot speak at the public information session but would still like to provide comments to the assessment team, they may do so by telephone. The public may call 678-625-1438 on Nov. 29 between the hours of 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Telephone comments as well as appearances at the public information session are limited to 10 minutes and must address the agency’s ability to comply with CALEA Standards. A copy of the standards is available at NCSO. Local contact is Sgt. Cortney Morrison 678-625-1405 or cmorrison@newtonsheriffga.org.

Persons wishing to offer written comments about the Newton County Sheriff Office’s ability to meet the standards for accreditation are requested to write: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, Inc. (CALEA), 13575 Heathcote Blvd., Suite 320 Gainesville, Virginia 20155.

The NCSO has to comply with CALEA standards in order to gain accredited status, Brown said.

For more information regarding the CALEA, please write the commission at 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320 Gainesville, Virginia 20155; call 703-352-4225 or email calea@calea.org.