ACCREDITATION
CALEA
In 1991, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office became the first law enforcement agency in Northeast Florida to receive accredited status from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) , and is referred to as “First on the First Coast.” Receiving this accreditation status is the "Mark of Professional Excellence" for a public safety agency and reflects the gold standard benchmark. The CALEA accreditation program requires agencies to comply with state-of-the-art standards in four basic areas: policy and procedures, administration, operations, and support services. The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to excellence and has been continuously re-accredited since 1991.
Initial Accreditation: July 27, 1991
Next CALEA assessment: March 2025
The accreditation process is not to be viewed as an event that occurs once every review cycle, rather as an on-going, quality, performance review of the agency. A successful reaccreditation is contingent upon the agency's ability to demonstrate continued compliance with applicable standards during the period being reviewed.
CFA
The SJSO was granted State Accredited status through the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation, Inc. (CFA) on October 17, 1996.
Our agency complied with the state accepted standards for excellence in the delivery of law enforcement and was granted state accredited status. CFA status is for a period of three years, with a reaccreditation process of agency self-assessment, mock on-site, official on-site review of agency policy compliance to state standards, and a hearing held by the Commission. The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office received accredited and reaccredited status on the following dates:
Initial accreditation: October 17, 1996 in Tampa
Reaccreditations:
February 9, 2000 in Punta Gorda
February 5, 2003 in Boca Raton
February 8, 2006 in Panama City
June 11, 2008 in Coral Springs
June 30, 2011 in Bonita Springs
June 25, 2014 in Bonita Springs
June 21, 2017 in Orlando
June 18, 2020 (Virtual) Orlando
In 2011, 2014, 2017, & 2020 the SJSO received the Excelsior Award. The SJSO is the third agency to receive this prestigious award. This award recognizes agencies with long term and successful reviews of their policies and procedures. It is limited to agencies that have earned five continuous unconditional assessments.
Our next CFA reaccreditation will be held in 2023. in
FCAC
Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission (FCAC) – The Florida Corrections Accreditation program offers our Corrections Division the opportunity to evaluate our facility’s operations against standards developed by the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission.
All aspects of Correctional operations are addressed through the standards, including admission, classification, housing, sanitation, food service, personnel issues, fiscal activities, security, training and medical.
Benefits we may see as an accredited agency include professionally recognition through standardized methods of operation, strengthened public credibility, reduction of liability, protection of agency and employee by practicing accepted methods of operation state wide, clearly defined operating procedures, consistency for employees, and accountability by all employees and members of management. The St. Johns County Correction Division received accredited and reaccredited status on the following dates:
Initial Accreditation: June 22, 2004, St. Pete Beach, FL
Reaccreditations:
June 5, 2007 in Hutchinson Island, FL
June 29, 2010 in Bonita Springs, Fl
June 25, 2013 in Bonita Springs, FL
June 21, 2016 in Orlando, FL
June 25, 2019 in Orlando Florida
Our next FCAC onsite assessment will be held in 2022.
In 2019, the St Johns County Corrections Division received the Excelsior Award. This award recognizes agencies with long term and successful reviews of their policies and procedures. It is limited to agencies that have earned five continuous unconditional assessments.
FLA-TAC
The FLA-TAC strives to improve the ability of Florida Communication Centers to deliver professional public safety services.
FLA-TAC provides a mechanism for all Florida public safety telecommunications centers, regardless of size, to achieve, maintain and retain accredited status. The accreditation process does not end after an agency is awarded accreditation status. Throughout the three year self-assessment the SJSO Communications Center must continue to maintain and demonstrate compliance with FLA-TAC standards. On February 21, 2019, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office (SJSO) Communications Center achieved initial accreditation status through the Florida Telecommunications Accreditation Commission (FLA-TAC).
Initial Accreditation
February 21, 2019, St. Augustine, Florida
Our next FLA-TAC assessment will be held in 2022.
