A team of assessors from the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation (CFA) will commence an assessment of all aspects of the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office including its policies, management, operations and support services on Tuesday, October 27, 2020. 

Verification by the assessment team that the agency meets the Commission's 239 standards is part of a voluntary process to be re-accredited, which occurs every three years. The assessors will review written directives, interview agency members and observe agency practices via video to verify compliance with these standards. 

As part of the assessment, agency members and the general public are invited to offer comments about the ability of the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office to meet CFA standards. 

Comments may be submitted to: CFA, P.O. Box 1489, Tallahassee, Florida, 32302, or emailed to flaccreditation@fdle.state.fl.us. A copy of the standards is available by contacting the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement Accreditation Manager Sarah Kenniff at 941.861.4056. 

The CFA assessment team will be led by Captain Ryan Marken of the Coconut Creek Police Department. Ms. Miriam Simon of the Coral Springs Police Department and Ms. Amanda Rubel of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office will be assisting. 

Once the Commission's assessors complete their review they report back to the full commission, which then determines whether the agency is to receive its re-accredited status. 

It is important to note that in addition to this CFA law enforcement accreditation, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office correctional facility is accredited by the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission (FCAC), and its 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. In September 2020 the Sheriff’s Office’s property and evidence section became the first in Florida to receive accredited status by the International Association for Property and Evidence, Inc. 

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office was the first law enforcement agency in Florida to become fully accredited by CFA in 1996.