Rockford police seek Illinois accreditation

ROCKFORD — Assessors from the Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Program will visit Rockford this week as the police department completes a nearly three-year effort to change accrediting agencies.

Citing the expense, Rockford Police Chief Dan O’Shea in August 2017 opted out of the premier national police accrediting system called CALEA, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.

Since then, the department has worked to shift its accreditation to ILEAP, a smaller, Illinois-based accreditation system established by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.

“Having a high standard accreditation certification directly correlates to the high caliber of men and women that make up the Rockford Police Department,” O’Shea said in a news release.

A team of current and former Illinois law enforcement executives from ILEAP will be in Rockford starting Wednesday to determine whether the department should receive the organization’s highest level of accreditation, Rockford officer Jeffrey Oberts, the department’s accreditation manager, said in an email to the Register Star.

Accreditation takes a hard look at a department’s policies and procedures, which must align with 180 ILEAP standards. It is viewed as a way to improve management, reduce liability risk and enhance public confidence.

Under CALEA, accreditation cost $5,000 a year and required a more time-consuming process than ILEAP accreditation, which will cost $800 a year or $2,400 for a four-year cycle.

O’Shea previously said he was using the savings from the change on the department’s resident officer program houses and community policing programs for youths.

Officials, police officers and members of the public can phone assessors from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. on Thursday to comment on the department’s ability to meet accreditation standards. The number to call is (779) 500-6575.

Calls are limited to five minutes.

Jeff Kolkey: jkolkey@rrstar.com; @jeffkolkey