1. The Impact of CALEA Accreditation – the Ohio State
Highway Patrol Experience
Ms. Kathy Mahl, Accreditation Manager
Ohio State Highway Patrol
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is very proud to have been awarded its sixth Law
Enforcement Accreditation Award in addition to achieving Flagship Agency status for
the second consecutive time. Just as when the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OHSP)
initially sought accreditation 20 years ago, the pursuit of professional excellence
remains a top priority. As any agency that earns initial accreditation learns, hopefully
before its first reaccreditation, maintaining accredited status is a continuing process that
does not stop after the awards banquet is over and the photos have been taken. Instead
it becomes an integral part of the agency’s everyday operations, just as it has at OSHP.
Our motto, “Excellence in Service,” is synonymous with CALEA Standards.
Streamlining the Process
In 1989 when OSHP was initially accredited, there were over 900 standards in the law
enforcement program. At that time numerous uniformed and civilian staff members were
assembled to begin the self-assessment process. Since then, CALEA has made
innumerable modifications to improve the process, and today’s program is dramatically
streamlined. Now OSHP complies with approximately 446 of the 463 Law Enforcement
Standards. Maintaining compliance with these professional standards has proven to be
an excellent foundation on which to build a more efficient and effective agency.
Within OSHP, this process has also been significantly streamlined, primarily in two
ways. First, the management of the accreditation process is just one of the
administrative tasks now handled by two professional staff members on an on-going
basis, and second, the Standards Matrix Report was developed in order to incorporate
more field personnel involvement. This comprehensive report summarizes each
applicable CALEA Standard and related bullet(s) and also identifies acceptable proofs
of compliance for the particular standard for each year a proof is needed. By providing a

2. detailed list of compliance documents needed as well as multiple suggestions for
potential proofs, component staff can easily comply with the request for information.
Immediately following an on-site assessment, work begins to collect proofs of
compliance for the next reaccreditation cycle. Due to the size of our agency (2,500 full-
time personnel), no field location is providing more than three proofs of compliance per
year. It has become a process embraced by all staffing levels in day-to-day routines.
Additionally, each of the three follow-up year’s documentation is provided during the
initial follow-up so a component can identify proofs of compliance as an incident occurs
or as time permits. For example, it is often difficult to find an investigation where a body
cavity search was preformed. However, having the request in advance puts the unit “on
notice” and triggers the component to retain that information and forward immediately
upon occurrence and simply mark it off their list. The collection of proofs of compliance
continues to become more streamlined and routine as our personnel have gotten more
involved in understanding the process. CALEA greatly helped the streamlining of the
collection process with the addition in 2005 of Appendix G, File Construction and
Documentation to the standards manual, which established guidelines for all agencies
as to what were acceptable proofs to meet the standards.
Compliance with Standards Produces Results
Twenty years of being in
compliance with CALEA
Standards has
produced numerous,
categorical results for
the OSHP as well. For
example, with the
formation of collective
bargaining in the late
1980s, the OSHP was
said to have had more
grievances and
arbitrations than any
other state agency. One direct result is that the standards were initially instrumental in
building the foundation to establish a positive relationship between labor and
management. As begun in our initial self-assessment review process, the OSHP
conducts an annual review and analysis of grievances filed by all bargaining unit
employees. This process helps the OSHP ensure that management is acting in concert
with the collective bargaining agreement(s), an aspect favorably looked upon by our
members. By reviewing the number or the type of grievances that are filed, labor is able
to determine if there is a particular issue that needs to be addressed, whether it is a
training issue or simply a policy clarification. Additionally, these reviews have been
crucial when preparing for upcoming collective bargaining negotiations.

3. Another result of compliance is that CALEA Standards ensure policies and procedures
are periodically reviewed and are consistent with current legislation and technology.
During an early on-site assessment it was brought to our attention that our agency had
many fragmented policies. For instance, a use of force incident might require a
supervisor completing the administrative documentation to review numerous policies,
depending on the incident’s unique circumstances. Or a motor vehicle pursuit that
resulted in the suspect fleeing on foot and ended with the use of a firearm required the
investigating supervisor to consult up to five policies to ensure proper documentation,
routing, points of contact, follow-up, etc. By following the recommendations of the on-
site assessment team, all policies underwent a thorough review in an effort to “connect
the dots.” This led to consolidation of hundreds of our policies, resulting in more
concisely written policies where information could be more efficiently located, reducing
supervisor review time.
A third example lies within the review and inspection area. Just as the OSHP places a
great emphasis on our field units to be in compliance with numerous areas during the
annual staff and line inspection process, likewise, the CALEA On-site Assessment
provides a comparable inspection process for General Headquarters. For example, the
standards require continuous evaluation of our internal resources that push data out to
the field to better allocate our personnel. On numerous occasions, these reviews of
various resources have shown us our short-comings and have forced us to take action
to improve our internal mechanisms. Once during the annual Crime Analysis Review,
inconsistencies in the data being inputted were discovered. This triggered a further
review and resulted in the adoption of suggestions for improving both data input and
reviews by personnel and the collection repository. Additionally, these types of reviews
assist our agency in determining a shift of personnel needs based on recent crime
trends or crash occurrences. The continuous evaluation of this information assists the
OSHP in reducing both crime and crash frequencies within the state.
Finally, CALEA Standards that require a review, evaluation, or analysis be conducted
results in finding value in what is being reported and determining if there are greater

4. needs to be addressed. These activities are necessary for an agency’s success, growth,
and preparedness for the future. The results for the OSHP include reducing
administrative costs, improving use of resources, increasing efficiency, and ultimately
providing better services.
The Impact of Accreditation
As described by CALEA, the accreditation program provides law enforcement agencies
an opportunity to voluntarily demonstrate that they meet an established set of
professional standards. Echoing the published results of CALEA Law Enforcement
Accreditation, the following lists the impact of accreditation the OSHP:
 CALEA Accreditation requires an agency to develop a comprehensive, well
thought out, uniform set of written directives.
These directives are imperative to maintaining uniformity and structure across
our diverse agency, covering Ohio’s 88 counties.
 CALEA Accreditation provides the necessary reports and analyses a CEO needs
to make fact-based, informed management decisions.
These reports and analyses assist OSHP in countless areas such as
personnel and resource allocations, crime and crash trends, training issues,
or equipment needs. These reports have often been useful in obtaining grant
funding and resources from outside agencies in support of crime and crash
reduction efforts for the safety benefit of those traveling Ohio’s roadways.
 CALEA Accreditation requires a preparedness program be put in place, so an
agency is ready to address natural or man-made critical incidents.
Without standards particular to critical incident training or the collection of
materials for response agencies, management of an ongoing critical incident
can become ineffective or even inefficient. Critical incident standards, along
with NIMS requirements, required our agency to take a close look at outside
agency contact and response information, maps, shelters, communications
policies, etc. Additionally the requirement to participate in table-top exercises
with response agencies assists with acknowledging other agencies’ response
procedures and protocols in addition to sharing information on the OSHP’s
role.
An unfavorable outcome resulting from problematic critical incident
management can affect future citizen support of a response agency for many
years following an incident. In contrast, through after action analysis of the
emergency services response to Hurricane Katrina, accredited agencies that
responded often credited CALEA standards for standardizing their response
to assist with the casualties, rescues, first responder activities, and command
issues.

5.  CALEA Accreditation is a means for developing or improving upon an agency’s
relations with the community.
Standards covering community relations activities demonstrate to an agency
of our demographics and size that we must be involved with those we
serve. Standards in this area allow us to ensure participation with local
community groups, which leads to greater support from the citizens of Ohio
and in turn, increases our awareness of citizens’ concerns.
 CALEA Accreditation strengthens an agency’s accountability, both within the
agency and the community, through a continuum of standards that clearly define
authority, performance and responsibilities.
Again, the standardization of agency practices is imperative for both stability
and uniformity within the agency. Through agency directives all personnel of
the OSHP have clearly defined directives covering agency authority,
performance and responsibilities. Without this accountability agency
employees would lack direction and continuity.
 CALEA Accreditation can limit an agency’s liability and risk exposure because it
demonstrates that internationally recognized standards for law enforcement have
been met, as verified by a team of independent, outside CALEA trained
assessors.
The assessment from outside assessors is an excellent measure of an
agency’s true performance in areas that may be overlooked by an internal
agency inspection process. By sheer participation in the CALEA Process, our
agency is willing to be critically reviewed and is open to the criticisms of the
assessment team in an effort to ensure we are incorporating the best
practices within the law enforcement industry. Through the accreditation
process our liability and risk exposure are significantly reduced in comparison
with agencies who simply maintain an internal review process.
 CALEA Accreditation facilitates an agency’s pursuit of professional excellence.
The OSHP’s voluntary participation in the CALEA Process publicizes the
agency’s goal to achieve professional excellence in all areas of our
administration and operations.
Accreditation has provided the Ohio State Highway Patrol with resources and guidance
necessary to continue serving Ohio citizens at the highest level. The OSHP is proud to
be recognized as being a member of a select group of law enforcement agencies which
is setting the standard for others through the achievement of international accreditation
by CALEA.