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Newton sheriff's office inviting comments during accreditation assessment
Newton County Sheriff's Office patrol car

Beginning Monday, Nov. 16, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) will conduct a two-day compliance assessment of the Newton County Sheriff’s Office. The team will measure the agency’s continued ability to meet public safety standards considered to be benchmarks of excellence nationwide. 

The Sheriff’s Office has been nationally accredited by CALEA since March 2017.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sheriff’s Office will be experiencing a virtual assessment format involving video presentations of facilities, virtual public hearing, and interviews of staff, partner agencies, and community members. As always, Sheriff Ezell Brown invites and encourages members of the community to comment on the agency’s ability to meet these professional standards. 

Three options are available for public comments:

• Attend and speak at the virtual public hearing via Zoom. 

The Sheriff’s Office will host a virtual public hearing on Monday, Nov. 16, at 6 p.m. Those who wish to speak or observe must register on the Sheriff’s Office website in advance. 

Comments will be limited to 10 minutes per person. Attendees are encouraged to speak from a prepared statement to ensure best use of their time. If any registered speaker is not available, the facilitator will call the next person in the lineup. 

• Speak to an assessor. Call 678-625-1592 and provide your name, telephone number, and agency affiliation (if any) between 8 a.m. on Nov. 16, and 8 a.m. Nov. 17. Assessors will return calls Nov. 17 between 10 a.m. and noon. Calls will be limited to 10 minutes to allow the assessors to talk to as many people as possible. 

• Submit written comments directly to CALEA by mail or e-mail. Please reference “Newton County Sheriff’s Office” in the correspondence or subject line. 

Send to: 

Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, Inc. (CALEA) 

13575 Heathcote Blvd., Suite 320 

Gainesville, Virginia 20155 

E-mail: calea@calea.org.

A copy of the standards is available at the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, 15151 Alcovy Road, Covington, GA 30014. 

The contact person for review is Accreditation Manager Lt. Cortney Morrison at cmorrison@newtonsheriffga.org or 678-625-1405.

For more information about the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, visit www.newtonsheriffga.org.