CALEA Awards Reaccreditation to KPD

The Kauaʿi Police Department (KPD) received a law enforcement reaccreditation award that is considered the “Gold Standard in Public Safety” from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) on Nov. 13.

This international award recognizes professional excellence in law enforcement and is only granted to police departments that choose to undergo an accreditation process in which all criteria for management, safety, and service and delivery must be demonstrated.

KPD was required to comply with nearly 200 standards and files that are reviewed by CALEA Compliance Service Members on an annual basis. Moreover, in June, two assessors from CALEA examined all aspects of KPD policy and procedures, management, operations, and support services to ensure compliance with established standards. The team of two were able to verify that KPD was, indeed, in compliance with all applicable standards and they submitted a report of their findings to the CALEA Commission.

On Nov. 12, Chief of Police Todd G. Raybuck and the KPD accreditation team appeared before the CALEA Commission Review Committee and the Commission approved the reaccreditation of KPD, which is held for four years.

“First of all, we’d like to thank the community for participating in this process. The public comments and input that were taken during the public access telephone session and public information hearing in June were a significant part of our reaccreditation,” said Administrative & Technical Bureau Assistant Chief Elliott “Kalani” Ke. “We also want to thank Mayor Derek S. K. Kawakami’s administration and the Police Commission for their ongoing support of KPD. And finally, I’d like to personally thank Sergeant Jason Matsuoka and Sergeant Troy Sakaguchi for their roles in this procedure from the onset. Sgt. Sakaguchi’s role was particularly critical to maintaining the standards compliance that led to a successful accreditation. His hard work, diligence and attention to detail was what helped make this accreditation so successful.”