The Doña Ana Sheriff’s Office was accredited for the first time, ever by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., CALEA®, which is the gold standard for public safety agencies, during the Board of County Commissioners regular meeting.

Mark Mosier, CALEA Regional Program Manager, presented the November 2023 CALEA Accreditation Award to the Sheriff’s Office. “CALEA is the only internationally recognized public safety accrediting body in existence, serving Canada, Mexico, Barbados, in addition to the United States,” Mosier said. CALEA has accredited more than 1,400 agencies, since its inception in 1979.  Gaining accreditation is a distinction held by very few, as there are more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies, just in the U.S.

The accreditation process is voluntary and requires reaccreditation for public safety agencies, every four years.  To achieve it, the Sheriff’s Office demonstrated compliance with more than 400 rigid CALEA standards, participated in assessments, submitted information about its own performance and updated its webpage, providing more transparency to the public. 

Holding a CALEA® accreditation can help limit exposure to liability risk because it shows that a team of independent assessors verified the Sheriff's Office meets internationally-recognized standards. Accreditation also helps maintain its commitment to professional excellence and the community, with the highest quality of public safety service.

“This could not have happened without a collective effort on the part of our team. It took everybody, truly,” said County Sheriff Kim Stewart. She also recognized the following DASO staff, for their leadership in this initiative: Lucia Narvaez and Rachel Torres, Professional Standards Division, Sgt. Michael K. Hinojosa, Lt. Brian Johnston and Major Jon Day.

The Sheriff’s Office employs 239 deputies and administrative staff, serving more than 219,567 residents, throughout Doña Ana County.