Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Professional Standards Bureau
-Policy Development and Accreditation Division

Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA)

PINELLAS COUNTY – On March 23, 2024, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office was awarded reaccreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) in Montgomery, Alabama.

CALEA auditors visited the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office from October 30, 2023 through November 2, 2023, and wrote a detailed report submitting their findings to the accreditation commission. The CALEA commission later convened and for the eleventh time, granted meritorious reaccreditation status to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Commander of the Professional Standards Bureau Captain Bobby Osterland, and Commander of the Policy Development and Accreditation Division Lieutenant Tom Nestor, represented the Sheriff's Office and accepted the accreditation before a panel of CALEA commissioners who reviewed the report.

The accreditation process is a proven management model and a blueprint for self-improvement, which strengthens accountability, both within the agency itself and externally throughout the community.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office has been accredited since 1988 and is one of less than 40 Sheriff Offices in the United States to have received the Triple Crown Award for being CALEA, the American Correctional Association (ACA), and the National Commission on Correctional Healthcare (NCCHC) accredited.  CALEA reaccreditation occurs every four years.

(Left to right) Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) Executive Director W. Craig Hartley, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Commander of the Professional Standards Bureau Captain Bobby Osterland, Commander of the Policy Development and Accreditation Division Lieutenant Tom Nestor, and Commissioner Mr. Marlon Lynch, at the CALEA reaccreditation presentation on March 23, 2024, in Montgomery, Alabama.