The Department of Emergency Communications holds the Communications Accreditation from the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA®). This program provides us with a process to systemically review and internally assess our operations and procedures. Our agency is reviewed remotely on an annual basis and CALEA® Assessors conduct an on-site review every four years. The Department of Emergency Communications received initial accreditation in 2005 and has been reaccredited 5 additional times since then. Our current accreditation is effective until 2025. We maintain files daily to ensure continued compliance which requires that we have a developed set of directives and rules that are adhered to by all employees. Agency roles that are examined in this process are Organizational Structure; Direction and Supervision; Human Resources; Recruitment, Selection and Promotion; Training; Operations; and Critical Incidents, Special Operations and Homeland Security. A large amount of continuous work is required to maintain compliance with the standards set forth in each of these areas. This process requires all Department of Emergency Communications employees to be familiar with the policies, procedures, rules, and laws that pertain to our agency and the need to accurately follow and enforce them. Each section must demonstrate professional work ethics as they carry out their individual responsibilities to ensure best practices and accreditation compliance.
While we are a stand-alone agency, we work closely with the Metro Nashville Police Department and the Metro Police Training Academy, to maintain the CALEA® Tri-Arc Award. Nashville is one of only 17 cities to receive this prestigious award from CALEA®.
The Department of Emergency Communications’ focus is and will continue to be, to strive to deliver high quality service while operating in the professional manner to which the citizens are accustomed. Being CALEA® accredited is one of the most effective methods of checks and balances to ensure we meet or exceed this goal. As part of the Department of Emergency Communications' ongoing reaccreditation process and to promote community trust and engagement, members of the public have an opportunity to provide feedback via CALEA®’s online portal.
The purpose of this public portal is to receive comments regarding the Department of Emergency Communications' compliance with CALEA® standards, engagement in the service community, delivery of public safety services, and overall candidacy for accredited status. This feedback can be in the form of commendations or concerns. The overall intent of the accreditation process is to provide our agency with information to support continuous improvement, as well as foster the pursuit of professional excellence. Additionally, this link is specific to our department and your feedback will go directly to CALEA®.
IMPORTANT: CALEA® is not an investigatory body and subsequently the public portal should not be used to submit information for such purposes. Additionally, there will be no response other than acknowledgment of submissions; however, the information will be considered in context to its relevancy to compliance with standards and the tenets of CALEA® Accreditation.