The Stayton Police Department would like to thank the residents of Stayton and greater Santiam area for their support of the law enforcement community during these past months. The numerous cards, social media posts, phone calls, and in-person contacts from you have only reassured us that what we do is worthy and noble. The Stayton Police Department is committed to improving our operational capabilities, transparency, policy, and procedures. Our actions will only strengthen the connection with the community where we work, live, and play.
The Stayton Police Department recently joined the Oregon Accreditation Alliance (OAA). OAA standards are derived from standards produced by the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). Being accredited is a method of measuring the performance and accountability of police agencies. Accreditation establishes a uniformed set of “Best Practices” for police agencies consistent, measurable, and verified by an independent body as to compliance and creates accountability to the community, elected officials, and the department staff who are performing the day-to-day work.
Our Police Department has been accepted to the OAA and is currently in a self-assessment phase. This phase requires the agency to review department policy and determine our level of compliance with OAA standards. The agency must establish proof of compliance, and through this process, we will be required to update and revise policies as necessary to obtain accreditation.
The next phase is an onsite assessment by OAA assessors who review our policies, procedures, and practices against the standards to ensure compliance was met. A report will then be compiled and forwarded to the Oregon Accreditation Alliance Board for review and nomination to award accreditation to the agency.
This is not a one-time process in order to maintain accreditation; an agency must provide annual documentation of continued compliance and undergo an onsite assessment every three years.
The Stayton Police Department is committed to this process to provide a high level of service to the community by adhering to the best practices in law enforcement. On average, it can take from 18-24 months to obtain accreditation. Of the one hundred and seventy-four (174) law enforcement agencies in Oregon currently, there are only fifty-three (53) who are accredited and fifteen (15) who are in a self-assessment stage of the process.
Again, we thank you for your ongoing support of the law enforcement community and your agency.