Accreditation is a familiar word in numerous industries and professions including education and medicine. Accreditation was introduced to the Law Enforcement community in 1979 when several professional groups collaborated and formed the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

The founders of CALEA were professionals from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP); National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE); National Sheriffs' Association (NSA); and Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). The overall purpose is the professionalization of law enforcement agencies by improving the delivery of law enforcement service by offering a body of standards, developed by law enforcement practitioners, covering a wide range of up-to-date law enforcement topics. It recognizes professional achievements by offering an orderly process for addressing and complying with applicable standards.

The process is entirely voluntary. It is entered into by the law enforcement agency voluntarily. The agency chooses to comply with applicable standards voluntarily and voluntarily chooses to remain in the accreditation process.

The standards address seven major areas consisting of: law enforcement roles, responsibilities and relationships with other agencies; organization, management and administration; personnel structure and process; traffic operations; prisoner and court-related operations; communications; and property and evidence control.

The Cincinnati Police Department applied for CALEA accreditation in 1995 and received initial accreditation in 1997. As part of the process, three qualified assessors hired and trained by CALEA, visit the agency every three years to assess the agency's compliance with applicable standards. They spend nearly one week onsite. They report their findings to the Commission staff. After a review of the report, the Commission staff refers the report to a committee comprised of CALEA commissioners. A hearing is held between candidate agency representatives and the committee. The committee then votes on the recommended status of the agency and refers its findings to the full commission for a vote. The Cincinnati Police Department was reaccredited in 2000 and 2003 by vote of the full commission after the onsite assessments showed the Department met the requirements set forth by CALEA for reaccreditation. The next onsite will be in 2006.