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FLETA Receives 2014 DHS Secretary's Award for Excellence

For Immediate Release
FLETA Staff are recognized during the FLETA Board meeting on November 20, 2014 for receiving the DHS Secretary's Award.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson and Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas presented the FLETA Office of Accreditation (OA) with the 2014 Secretary's Award for Excellence on October 23, 2014 in Washington, DC. Members of the FLETA OA being recognized included: Gary Mitchell, Ph.D., Executive Director; Robert Bruton, Program Manager; Christiana Halsey, Program Manager; Jimmy Hill, Staff Assistant; Patricia Perry (retired); and, C.J. Ross, Program Manager. Dr. Mitchell and Mrs. Halsey accepted the award, along with Brad Smith, FLETC's representative on the FLETA Board.

"It is truly an honor to receive this particular award for Excellence," Dr. Mitchell explained. "FLETA serves our nation by promoting excellence in federal law enforcement training, and for the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security to present us with the DHS Secretary's Award for Excellence is both validation of our hard work and serves as an inspiration as FLETA works towards the future."

Connie L. Patrick, Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers congratulated the FLETA OA staff on this accomplishment, "You [FLETA OA] all deserve recognition and have certainly improved the professionalism of training for all Federal Law Enforcement.  I am happy the DHS is formally recognizing your many accomplishments."

View the FLETA OA receiving the FLETA Award (33:46).

The FLETA Office of Accreditation continues to advance the Homeland Security mission through the accreditation and standardization of all federal law enforcement training. This small seven person office is responsible for managing the FLETA process that all federal  agencies use to measure and improve the training that prepares federal law enforcement officers, agents, and other personnel to perform their critical missions of enforcing U.S. laws and regulations. FLETA provides agencies a set of standards and processes by which they are able to analyze their training, identify improvements, and implement change that results in better more professional training and directly impacts operational successes.

In 2014, the FLETA Office of Accreditation directly supported the review of 25 law enforcement training programs and five federal training academies from six different departments of government. Using the FLETA process, agencies have reported: reductions in training hours and accidents resulting in cost savings; improvements to existing training programs resulting in operational outcomes; improvements to agency processes, policies, and procedures; greater communications with field components resulting in improvements to training; and greater communications and collaboration with other law enforcement entities. The FLETA process is ongoing requiring agencies to undergo review every five years and currently supports more than 180 federal law enforcement training programs and academies from 16 different departments and independent agencies of government to achieve FLETA accreditation improving the professionalism, competence, and excellence of federal law enforcement everywhere.