1. Steven Hougland, Ph.D. Bainbridge State College
The veneer of accreditation: a national examination of CALEA’s affect on citizen complaints
Steven Hougland, Ph.D.
Bainbridge State College

2. CALEA
Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) was formed in 1979.
CALEA’s 480 standards address management, personnel, operations, traffic, and courts.
Certification implies that accredited agencies differ from non-accredited agencies in identifiable ways.
Proponents see it as a process that improves agency performance through the diffusion of best practices in the field.

3. Differences due to CALEA?
Some suggestion that accredited organizations differ from non-accredited agencies in identifiable ways
operation of a drug or child-abuse unit
use polygraph exams and pre-employment drug testing
increased calls for service
Improved crime clearance rates
decreased citizen complaints

4. The Current Study
CALEA standard states “A written directive requires all complaints against the agency or its employees be investigated, to include anonymous complaints”
All agencies seeking CALEA accredited status are required to comply with this standard.
Sought to examine the effect of CALEA accreditation on reducing citizen complaints.
Used data from the 2007 LEMAS survey
Citizen complaints of excessive use of force.

5. Data
2007 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey.
state and local law enforcement agencies employing 100 or more full-time sworn officers and a systematic random sample of smaller departments (n=3,095)
The final sample included 950 agencies with 100 or more sworn personnel, and 2,145 agencies employing fewer than 100 sworn personnel. The BJS received 2,840 survey responses for a total response rate of 91.8% and an item non-response rate that was generally 0%

6. Data Data listed agencies by name, city, and state
Identified CALEA agencies
Conducted an internet search to locate state accrediting bodies (n=21).
Agencies not credentialed by CALEA but certified by a state-level accreditation process were identified and removed (n=221).
The final sample size for this study was 2,511 agencies
CALEA accredited= 314
not accredited=2,197

7. Dependent Variables The number of sustained citizen complaints;
The number of not-sustained complaints;
The number of complaints pending completion;
And the total number of all complaints.

8. Independent Variables
accredited status;
the total full-time employees;
the agency maintains computerized files on use of force incidents;
a civilian complaint review board reviews use of force complaints;
the agency operates an internal affairs unit;
the agency maintains an early warning system;
and the agency provides collective bargaining rights.

9. Analysis Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression is inappropriate.
assumption of a normal distribution of the data is often violated with count data.
Count data require either a Poisson or a negative binomial model.
A goodness of fit test determined the negative binomial model was appropriate.

10. Results
Provided in handouts.

11. Findings
CALEA accredited status is not a significant predictor for 3 of the 4 models.
Total complaints—not significant
Sustained complaints—not significant
Other than sustained—not significant
Pending--significant
Agency size was a significant predictor across most models : sustained, not sustained, and total.
Internal Affairs Unit, civilian review board, and early warning system were significant predictors for not sustained and total.

12. Findings
A Civilian Review Board increases Total Complaints and Sustained Complaints
“If you build it, they will come.”
Improving the complaint process will increase complaints.
An Internal Affairs Unit decreases Total Complaints and Sustained Complaints
Citizens generally dissatisfied with complaint process.

13. Why is CALEA not Significant?
In 35 years…
awarded accredited status to just 623 agencies.
3% of the nation’s 18,000 policing agencies
a number that has remained static for the last 10 years.
97% of police managers have chosen to not participate in a voluntary process that is arduous, costly, and labor-intensive

14. The value of CALEA?
accreditation has no impact on operational effectiveness
case clearance rates
reducing incidents involving use of force
or the frequency or severity of lawsuits

15. Process v. Outcome
most CALEA standards lack substantive content requiring that the agency have a policy leaving the content details to the agency.
accreditation standards emphasize process over outcome and have little impact on the quality and nature of delivered services.

16. Who’s not accredited?
The nation’s six largest police departments are not accredited, and of the 10 largest agencies, eight are not accredited.
New York City P.D. (1), Chicago P.D. (2), Los Angeles P.D (3), Philadelphia P.D. (4), Houston P.D. (5), Washington D.C. Metro Police (6), Dallas P.D. (8), and Detroit P.D. (10).

17. Not accredited
Just two of the largest sheriff’s offices are accredited .
The largest non-accredited sheriff’s offices include Los Angeles County S.O. (1), Cook County S.O. (2), San Diego County S.O. (4), Riverside County S.O. (5), Orange County (CA) S.O. (6), San Bernardino County S.O. (7), Palm Beach County S.O. (9), and Sacramento County S.O. (10).

18. Some Quotes…
"Police agency accreditation endures because it provides a veneer of professional assurance while accepting a wide range in the substance of formal policies, most of which have little consequence for the day-to-day practices of police.... Its greatest significance is in the symbolic realm, not the everyday experiences of the police and the public.”

19. Questions?