The Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation (FLETA) Board of Directors is proud to announce the recent award of Accreditation achieved by 2 federal training academies. The Board of Directors met and conducted public hearings at its March 2006 meeting in Tysons Corner, VA. The hearings took place to review the US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Career Development Division and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center for Academy Accreditation. The Board also held hearings to review the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Basic Special Agent Course (BSAC); the US Postal Inspection Service’s, Basic Inspector Training (BIT) and Postal Police Officer Basic Training (PPOBT) for Program Accreditation. All the applicants were awarded accreditation.
Each of these agencies had to undergo a voluntary thorough assessment of their academy and/or program to ensure compliance with the FLETA Standards in order to receive accreditation. This independent assessment is performed by volunteers from varying federal law enforcement agencies and addresses the following areas: Academy Administration; Qualifications and Development of Training Staff; Program Administration; and Program and Curriculum Development.
The USPIS Academy is located in Potomac, MD, the DSS is located in Dunn Loring, VA and the FLETC has four sites located in Glynco, GA., Cheltenham, MD, Artesia, NM and Charleston, SC. The FLETC accreditation marks the first agency to have multiple sites awarded Academy accreditation.
Upon receiving the award, FLETC Director Connie Patrick stated, “This accreditation speaks of our quality and elevates the status of FLETC training. This recognition would not be possible without the tireless work of our staff who trains those who protect our homeland.” Ms. Patrick went on to emphasize the importance Secretary Michael Chertoff, the Administration, and FLETC’s Partner Organizations place on quality law enforcement training.
FLETA Chairperson Sharon Henegan stated, “Through the Accreditation process, agencies have proven their commitment to quality, effectiveness and integrity, we congratulate each of these agencies on this accomplishment and applaud them for taking the lead to make accreditation a priority in training. Accreditation shows their dedication to ensure their agents have the best training available and that meets prescribed standards.”
Accreditation has long been recognized as a means of maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and Federal law enforcement agencies are no exception. All Federal law enforcement training academies and training programs are eligible to have the opportunity to attain accredited status through the Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation Board. To maintain their accreditation status, agencies are required to submit annual reports to the FLETA Board, and participate in a Re-Accreditation process which includes an assessment every three years. If you would like more information on the accreditation initiative, please visit our website at WWW.FLETA.GOV or call our office at 912-554-4392.