HANOVER, Va. – The Sheriff’s Office has achieved its fifth consecutive state reaccreditation through the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission (VLEPSC). Colonel David R. Hines, sheriff, was recently presented with his reaccreditation certificate at the Hanover County Board of Supervisors meeting on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, by Sheriff J.J. “Joe” McLaughlin, Jr., of New Kent County, who also serves as a VLEPSC commissioner.
Colonel David R. Hines accepted the certificate on behalf of the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office, stating that “without the strong partnerships we have worked so hard to establish within our community, this reaccreditation would not be possible to achieve.”
The Sheriff’s Office had its on-site assessment on January 29-30 and was found in full compliance with 189 applicable standards. The Sheriff’s Office first achieved state accreditation in 1998 and is the only Sheriff’s Office in Virginia to be dually accredited through VLEPSC and the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). Participating in both processes is voluntary.
To achieve reaccreditation, the Sheriff’s Office must undergo a rigorous on-site inspection every four years by multiple specially trained, independent assessors, who examine all areas of the agency to ensure compliance with all applicable professional standards set forth by the commission. This requires the agency to maintain its accreditation files on an ongoing basis and provide annual proofs of compliance.
