For Immediate Release
February 24, 2012
The Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation, Inc. (CFA) yesterday conferred professional law enforcement agency accreditation on the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.
The accreditation process requires the implementation of policies and procedures within state law enforcement guidelines and requires compliance with over 250 standards. An accredited agency must conform to best practices in the business and a high level adherence to legal, operational, and administrative processes designed to protect the taxpayers from unnecessary liabilities, better train and equip staff, and provide a higher level of service to the community. Every three years the sheriff’s office must be reevaluated by the CFA to ensure compliance with all required standards.
The WCSO now joins the ranks of more than 140 Florida accredited law enforcement agencies to include the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Duval County Sheriff’s Office, Bay County Sheriff’s Office and the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
In 2010, Sheriff Adkinson was appointed as a commissioner of the CFA Commission. He is very proud that his agency passed with a perfect score on the evaluation by the Commission, receiving 100% compliance with all standards.
“CFA accreditation raises the bar for excellence,” said Sheriff Michael A. Adkinson, Jr. “Accreditation is a rigorous process that symbolizes professionalism and competence in a law enforcement agency. This goal was accomplished because of the hard work by the men and women of the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.”
“I am so proud to be part of an agency where quality service and continual operational improvement is a top priority,” said Deputy Corey Rawles. “With the new way of doing business, we are more uniform in our procedures and clearly know our job expectations.”
The accreditation assessment team noted “The Walton County Sheriff’s Office has done an exceptional job of complying with all applicable accreditation standards. The agency is clearly living within the spirit and scope of Florida’s accreditation program. Under the leadership of Sheriff Adkinson, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office has become a premier law enforcement agency with forward thinking management, operational philosophies, and progressive law enforcement services. Sheriff Adkinson is a strong believer in continuous improvement of his agency for the benefit of the citizens of Walton County, Fla.”
For more information about the Florida accreditation programs, please visit www.flaccreditation.org.
For Further Information Contact:
Mike Morrison
Public Information Officer
Walton County Sheriff’s Office
(850) 892-8186 (main)
