Alexandria Sheriff’s Office Earns Law Enforcement Reaccreditation

The Alexandria Sheriff’s Office has been reaccredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), Sheriff Dana Lawhorne announced Monday.

The Office received the official reaccreditation at a ceremony Saturday, during CALEA’s fall conference in Jacksonville, Fla.

As part of the reaccreditation process, CALEA assessors visited the sheriff’s office in August for a three-day, on-site assessment to examine the office’s policies and procedures, management, operations and support services related to law enforcement.

While the Alexandria Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency for the city of Alexandria, the sheriff’s office does have law enforcement responsibilities, serving as a secondary responder with its primary mission as operating the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center, managing courthouse security, transporting prisoners and serving legal process and warrants.

The CALEA assessors evaluated the sheriff’s office on its compliance with more than 300 standards related to law enforcement. In its assessment report, the CALEA team found the office to be “a highly professional law enforcement agency that provides an impressive level of law enforcement services to the citizens of Alexandria” and “in compliance with all applicable standards, often electing to exceed the standards.”

CALEA first accredited the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office in July 1990. The office has been reaccredited every term since then. The Office is also accredited by the American Correctional Association and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care and certified by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and the Virginia Department of Corrections.