Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Re-Accredited

NEWS RELEASE 17-233 - NOVEMBER 3, 2017
Accreditation photo

Sheriff Tom Knight is pleased to announce that the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has been re-accredited by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation (CFA).

The agency received its official notification at the Commission’s general meeting Wednesday. Assessors conducted a three-day onsite visit in August to examine policies, management, operations and support services. They found the agency in compliance with all 259 applicable standards, and in their recommendation for re-accreditation commended the agency for eight flawless onsite visits in a row, and the third time receiving the Excelsior Award.

Sheriff Knight remarked, “For us, the accreditation process is not a collection of policies. Compliance with professionally accepted standards and regular review by outside professionals are important elements to ensure superior agency practices.”

In addition to this CFA law enforcement accreditation, the Sarasota County Jail is accredited by the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission (FCAC), and the Emergency Operations Bureau’s Public Safety Communications Section is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement (CALEA) for law enforcement dispatch, and the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch (NAED) for medical and fire communications.

 The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office was the first agency in the state to become fully accredited in 1996.