Department of Commerce
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
National Marine Fisheries Service
- Office for Law Enforcement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 14, 2006

NOAA FISHERIES SERVICE OFFICE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT RECEIVES THIRD ACCREDITATION 

On Nov. 18, NOAA Fisheries Service' Office of Law Enforcement received its third accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.

This past July, the commission conducted a formal review to ensure the law enforcement agency had maintained its proficiency and adhered to the standards required by the commission. This formal review process, conducted every three years, is culminated with an on-site review of the agency's management, organization, administration, communications, property and evidence control, and relationships with other law enforcement agencies. During the review process, a CALEA assessment team spent several days in Silver Spring at OLE's headquarters, visited several OLE field offices and took public comment.

Following a positive review, the CALEA assessors recommended to the commission that OLE be reaccredited. At a ceremony in Reno , Nev. , OLE received its third accreditation. OLE is the only federal law enforcement office with global jurisdiction to have been accredited three times.

Accreditation is a voluntary process for law enforcement agencies to demonstrate their compliance with national law enforcement standards. The overall purpose of the accreditation program is to improve delivery of law enforcement services. The accreditation process also provides OLE managers assurance that the agency is meeting its internal policies and procedures, and facilitates a solid review of OLE's status and readiness.

“We are very pleased to have this form of affirmation and approval as it relates to the agency's compliance with highly regarded and broadly recognized law enforcement standards, @ said Dale J. Jones, OLE = s director of enforcement. “This action affirms our commitment to assuring that the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement operates with a standard of excellence in its mission to conserve and protect our nation's marine resources.”

In 2007 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, celebrates 200 years of science and service to the nation.  From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America 's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

On the Web:

NOAA Fisheries Service: www.nmfs.noaa.gov

NOAA: www.noaa.gov