IN BRIEF: The Conyers Police Department has earned law enforcement's most prestigious distinction by achieving CALEA International Accreditation following a year-long application process. CALEA stands for Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, and achieving the CALEA distinction is the "gold standard" in law enforcement and the flagship of certification internationally.

"I am very proud of all the people not only in the police department but in the city who helped us with the entire accreditation process," CPD Chief Gene Wilson said Monday. "It really took about every area of the city because of all the different policies. It took effort from everybody and I have been very proud of that. It meant a great deal to me that both the city manager and the mayor were there when the award was presented."

The CALEA Commission met to review the application in Jacksonville last weekend and CPD won unanimous approval, according to Chief Wilson. Mayor Randy Mills, City Manager Tony Lucas, Chief Wilson and Accreditation Manager Lt.Tanya Perry were present at the commission hearing and the award was presented Saturday evening, Nov. 17 by CALEA Chairman Louis Dekmar, chief of the LaGrange Police Department, and CALEA Executive Director Sylvester Daughtry, Jr.

"In some ways there is a sense of relief, but there is also a real sense of accomplishment looking back on all there was to do but also on the things we needed to do such as practices and policies to update," Chief Wilson said. The department was required to comply with a "solid and complete set of policies" involving 480 standards that cover the following eight areas - the agency's role in the community, organization and management, personnel, legal, operations, support services, communications and holding areas.

CPD is one of only 45 law enforcement agencies in Georgia, out of the 1,028 agencies in the state, that have met law enforcement accreditation standards through CALEA.

CPD regained state certification in February this year after losing state certification two years ago. Many of the steps already taken by the CPD to regain state certification went hand-in-hand with the CALEA requirements.

Both state certification and CALEA accreditation are voluntary marks of distinction and are effective for three years. The Covington Police Department in Newton County is the nearest CALEA accredited department.

 Check Thursday's edition of the Rockdale News for the full story.