The Knoxville Police Department (KPD) is scheduled for an on-site assessment as part of a program to achieve accreditation by verifying it meets professional standards. Administered by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), the accreditation program requires agencies to comply with state-of-the-art standards in four basic areas: policy and procedures, administration, operations, and support services.

As part of the on-site assessment, members of the community and agency employees are invited to offer comments at a public information session on August 17, 2009 at 5:30 p.m. The session will be conducted in the auditorium of the Family Justice Center, 400 Harriet Tubman Street, Knoxville, Tennessee. The public and agency employees are also invited to offer comments to the Assessment Team by calling (865) 215-7028 between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on August 17, 2009.

Telephone comments as well as appearances at the public information session are limited to 10 minutes and must address the agency's ability to comply with accreditation standards. A copy of the standards is available at the Accreditation Unit at the Knoxville Police Department, 800 Howard Baker Jr. Avenue, Knoxville, Tennessee 37915. The agency contact is Lt. Virgil Hubbard at (865) 215-7522.

Anyone wishing to submit written comments about the Knoxville Police Department's ability to comply with accreditation standards may send them to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), 10302 Eaton Place, Suite 100, Fairfax, VA, 22030-2215. Persons may also submit written comments by e-mail to [email protected] and place "Knoxville Police Department" in the Subject Line.