Ridgewood Police Seeking Re-Accreditation

The Ridgewood Police Department will be seeking reaccreditation with the Coalition of Accredited Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).  The Ridgewood Police Department was initially accredited in 1996, and is currently the longest continuously accredited law enforcement agency in the State of New Jersey. 

On August 18, 2020 a team of assessors from CALEA will take part in an examination and assessment of the department to determine if our department follows the best practice standards used by many of the best police departments throughout the international law enforcement community. 

This assessment consists of several interviews with personnel for an in-depth look at the internal working of our department and how we conform to CALEA’s best practices, not only in theory, but also in actual application on a daily basis.  These interviews take place after four (4) annual assessments of the department’s policies, procedures, rules and regulations where the department provides proofs of compliance to CALEA’s standards by granting access to files showing such compliance. In total, the Ridgewood Police Department must meet and practice upwards of 484 individual best practice standards.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of this assessment is going to be conducted virtually.  As part of the on-site assessment, agency employees and members of the community are invited to offer public comments to the assessment teams members during two events. The first will be a “call in session” on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at 3:30pm. Persons who wish to call the assessors may do so at that time, and will be limited to 5 minutes.  The telephone number to contact an assessor is (201)857-5734. 

The second is a public hearing to be held on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 which will be conducted virtually on a Zoom Session.  The Session ID and password are below and will be posted on our site. 

Telephone comments, as well as appearances at the zoom session, are limited to 5 minutes and must address the agency’s ability to comply with CALEA’s standards.  A copy of the standards is available at the Ridgewood Police Department, 131 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ.  The local contact is Joseph Youngberg at (201) 251-4534.

Anyone wishing to submit written comments about the Ridgewood Police Department’s ability to comply with the standards for accreditation may send them to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (“CALEA”), 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320, Gainesville, Virginia 20155.

Once the Commission’s assessors complete their review of the agency, they report back to the full Commission, which will then decide if the agency is to be granted accredited status.

As always, we are proud to serve the fine community of Ridgewood as we have since 1894 and we look forward to continuing our service to you through professionalism and pride in the future.

Department Contact Information:

Chief Jacqueline Luthcke - jluthcke@ridgewoodnj.net - (201)670-5594

Ptl. Joseph Youngberg – jyoungberg@ridgewoodnj.net – (201)251-4534

Assessor Call-In Phone Number: (201)857-5734

ZOOM ID
Webinar ID: 847 4702 8207
Participant ID: 443216
International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbFmmJz0wj