SALISBURY — The Salisbury Police Department earned its eighth consecutive Meritorious Law Enforcement Accreditation award recently from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
The accreditation is good for three years.
Earning the award requires an extensive review of departmental policies, procedures and operations. The review was conducted in Salisbury over several days in November by a team of out-of-state assessors who reported their findings to the full CALEA commission.
According to the findings, the department was not only in compliance with the standards and policies necessary to maintain accredited status but also is performing well in the areas of professionalism and community service.
Participation in the CALEA accreditation program is voluntary for law enforcement agencies. To successfully participate in the program, an agency must provide documented proof of regular compliance with hundreds of time-proven standards which help to guide a law enforcement agency to operate with non-negotiable professionalism.
“Twenty-four years ago, the Salisbury Police Department elected to engage in the accreditation program for these very reasons, and we continue to this day to operate with those same high level standards, which remain at the forefront and ensure that we are providing high-quality law enforcement services to our citizens,” Police Chief Rory Collins said in a news release.
Collins commended the dedicated men and women who he said proudly and professionally serve the community and who have worked hard to maintain the prized meritorious accreditation status.
“I am also thrilled to be able to share the news of our re-accreditation with the community,” Collins said. “It is, in fact, for the benefit and protection of our citizens and for the continuous improvement of their quality of life that our department and staff commit themselves, every single day, to providing top-notch law enforcement services with professionalism and integrity.”
Collins said he hopes Salisbury residents will take pride in knowing that their police department is an accredited law enforcement agency that takes the service provided to the community seriously.
The accomplishment of earning this re-accreditation status is result of hard work and dedication by many departmental staff throughout the three-year period, Collins said. 
However, the department has one civilian staff member, Diana Gonzalez, who serves as the department’s police planner. One of Gonzalez’s duties is to serve the function of accreditation manager, Collins said.