Chapter 6. The On-Site Assessment

Your professional treatment of the assessment team starts here.

Scheduling

Contact the Commission staff when you feel you are prepared for the on-site assessment to arrange dates. The Commission will need a minimum of four weeks to arrange for a team. Remember, the assessor must make personal and professional arrangements in order to come to your department. The Commission staff will provide an assessment schedule.

Assessor Selection List

The Commission staff will submit to the agency an Assessor Selection List (ASL) containing the names and departments of potential assessment team members. The agency has the option, but not the obligation, of striking one name off the list. The Chief/Sheriff and the Accreditation Manager should conduct a review of the ASL. The Commission will not question the striking of a name. The reviewed list, with any strikes, must then be forwarded back to the Commission for team selection. The Commission staff will make every effort to ensure a balanced team is formed. The agency will be notified of the final team composition as soon as possible.

The agency is responsible only for the costs of mileage (if a private vehicle is used), meals, and any hotel accommodations for assessors. However, to avoid bearing these costs twice, it is prudent to take the extra time to coordinate a mock assessment to avoid the necessity of a repeat on-site full assessment.

Time Schedule

You can expect to follow this schedule for the on-site assessment:

• Day One — Team arrives; team meeting and planning.
• Day Two — File review; static display and agency tour; ride-along; interviews; public call-in session.
• Day Three — File review concludes; team prepares report; team holds exit interview with the Chief/Sheriff and the Accreditation Manager.

On-Site Protocol

The Accreditation Manager has now reached the critical stage of the process: the actual site visit. Preparation for the team should be a well-orchestrated and efficient procedure. The following list does not represent all of the preparations the Manager may arrange, but is fairly comprehensive.

• Make a personal phone call to team members about two weeks prior to the visit.
• Send an information packet to each member containing a letter of welcome from the Chief/Sheriff, a map to the hotel (if necessary), pertinent phone numbers (including the Accreditation Manager's cell number), an explanation of meal arrangements, a proposed itinerary, and information on the jurisdiction such as history and demographics.
• Discuss arrangements with the team leader as soon as possible. Arrange for the best possible accommodations. Individual rooms are a must. Check with team members for special considerations such as dietary restrictions, smoking or non-smoking preferences, or disabled access.
• Lodging should be reasonably near the agency headquarters.
• Make any hotel accommodations well in advance of the arrival date, and recheck the status of the reservations a minimum of two days prior to arrival. The hotel should have restaurant facilities.
• Arrange with the hotel management for rooms away from main traffic corridors and in an area of the hotel away from distractions.
• Make the hotel manager aware of the importance of the team.
• Advise the hotel manager that the team may want to secure their weapons in the hotel safe.

Meal Schedules

Meal arrangements should be discussed with the team leader.

While On-Site

The team will be in the jurisdiction for two to three days. The Manager should have the itinerary arranged with the team leader as much as possible. The Chief/Sheriff or his designee and the Accreditation Manager should meet the team at the hotel prior to the first evening's meal. Arrange for the static display and agency tour to be conducted early in the assessment.

Public Telephone Call-In Session

The agency and the assessors work together to schedule and publicize a telephone number for the use of the public to make comments to the assessors about the agency and its accreditation application. The telephone number should be widely publicized in the community prior to the arrival of the assessment team.

Initial Tour and Static Display

The static display and agency tour provide the team with many proofs of compliance by observation and interview. Some agencies have given the team a list of those standards that are at least partially complied with through the static display or agency tour. The Manager should provide the team a list of personnel assigned to the static display.

The agency tour should include the property room and communications component. These areas may take some time to inspect. The property room personnel will likely be asked a number of questions and also asked to pull items under agency care. Communications personnel may be asked to follow a request for service through their system. Arrangements for the static display are at agency discretion; however, if the agency is arranging an outdoor display, it is prudent to also arrange an alternate indoor site.

The Assessment Room

The actual assessment room is a critical area. The accreditation files should be easily accessible, and all agency procedure or operational manuals available. A copy machine and telephone should also be available.

Team Leader

The team leader will be the contact person for the team. The team leader shall moderate all discussions regarding compliance issues. The Accreditation Manager will be expected to be available to discuss issues anytime the team is working. More than one assessor may need information at any given time, so available help for the Accreditation Manager should be arranged, if not assigned.

Agency Access

Members of the team may want to attend shift change, ride along with officers, or interview members of the agency not scheduled for interview. This means the entire agency needs to be prepared for these possibilities. The team is trained to weigh all responses to queries. The Manager should arrange to attend shift change prior to the assessment and brief the department members on who is coming and what to expect.

Post-Assessment

The team will conduct an exit interview with the Chief/Sheriff and Accreditation Manager prior to departure. At this meeting, the agency will be advised of the final recommendation the team will give the Commission. If the team finds the agency in compliance with all applicable standards, the team leader will inform the Chief/Sheriff that the agency will be recommended for accredited status. If the agency failed to meet standards, the Commission can grant up to a ninety (90) day extension.

If there are disputed compliance issues, the agency has the option of presenting their case to the Commission. The Manager and Chief/Sheriff should appear before the Commission at the next scheduled meeting and present their interpretation of the issue. The Commission members will rule on the item, and if this issue is the deciding factor as to total compliance, will either grant or deny accredited status at this time.

Commission Review

MSLEAC will advise the agency of the date and time of the next Commission meeting. The Chief/Sheriff and Accreditation Manager will be invited to appear before the Commission to hear the final report delivered by the team leader. This is not mandatory. The Chief/Sheriff and Accreditation Manager will also be given an opportunity to speak on the accreditation program in general and the assessment in particular. Commission members will have questions for the agency representatives regarding particular phases of the process and any troublesome areas the agency experienced. This open forum is highlighted by the vote on accredited status.