From education, accreditation has spread to hospitals (medical schools wanted to ensure their interns a good learning environment), and many more disciplines. For example, accreditation spread to criminal justice agencies with the establishment of the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections in 1974.

"To accredit", means to recognize an agency or institution as conforming to a body of standards related to a specific discipline. Accreditation is defined as "the process of considering or recognizing as outstanding, it gives official authorization to, and approval for, operations, recognized for conforming to, and maintaining, higher quality standards of performance. Accreditation is usually accomplished by letters of authorization, credentials, or other forms of endorsement."

Law enforcement agency accreditation has been designed and developed as a voluntary, non-governmental concept, process and status.

The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.

The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., (CALEA)is a non-profit organization, formed in 1979 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriff's Association, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the Police Executive Research Forum. After several years of national research, these professional organizations developed the Standards for Law Enforcement Agencies. The commission's principal publication contains more than 900 standards, prepared by the four founding law enforcement executive membership associations. The complete standards were presented to the commission, which reviewed each standard at quarterly meetings held in many parts of the country from late 1979 to early 1983. Following a field review of the standards in several hundred law enforcement agencies, the commission adopted the standards in April 1983.  In April 1994, the commission published a third edition which condensed the number of standards to 436. The most recent, the fourth edition, was published in January 1999 and contains 442 standards.

These law enforcement standards were designed to:

• Increase law enforcement agency abilities to prevent and control crime;
• Increase agency effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of law enforcement services;
• Increase cooperation and coordination with other law enforcement agencies and with other agencies of the criminal justice system; and
• Increase citizen and employee confidence in the goals, objectives, policies and practices of the agency.

In addition, the commission was formed to develop a process that provides state and local law enforcement agencies an opportunity to demonstrate voluntarily that they meet an established set of law enforcement standards.

American Crime Laboratory Director's Association

In the fall of 1973, a small group of some thirty crime laboratory directors, geographically representing the country, met in Quantico, Virginia. Although called there by Clarence Kelly, Director of the FBI, it was Briggs White, Director of the FBI Laboratory, who, by his desire to bring local laboratories and the FBI Laboratory together, made it all possible. At this meeting, a steering committee under the able chairmanship of Richard Fox, was formed and met in Kansas City in the spring of 1974. A constitution was drafted, and, in the fall of 1974, in Quantico, at the first meeting, ASCLD was born. Chairman - Briggs White, FBI; Vice Chairman - Richard Fox, Missouri; Secretary - Atley Peterson, ATF; Treasurer - Larry Howard, Georgia. On February 18, 1976, ASCLD became ASCLD, Inc.

The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) is a nonprofit professional society devoted to the improvement of crime laboratory operations through sound management practices. Its purpose is to foster the common professional interests of its members; to promote and foster the development of laboratory management principles and techniques; to acquire, preserve and disseminate information related to the utilization of crime laboratories; to maintain and improve communications among crime laboratory directors; to promote, encourage and maintain the highest standards of practice in the field of crime laboratory services; and to strive for the suitable and proper accomplishment of the purposes and objectives of this professional association.

The Crime Laboratory Accreditation Program of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board   (ASCLD/LAB)is a voluntary program in which any crime laboratory may participate to demonstrate that its management, operations, personnel, procedures, equipment, physical plant, security, and personnel safety procedures meet established standards. The accreditation process is part of a laboratory's quality assurance program which should also include proficiency testing, continuing education and other programs to help the laboratory give better overall service to the criminal justice system. The process of self-evaluation which leads to accreditation is in itself a valuable management tool for the crime laboratory director.

Benefits of Law Enforcement Accreditation

Accreditation demonstrates the commitment of the agency to professionalism in terms of adherence to a body of standards.

Accreditation assures the community that its law enforcement agency is committed to high quality service and that its policies and procedures are effective and responsive on the one hand, and fair and equitable on the other.

Accreditation enhances community understanding of the law enforcement agency's role as well as its goals and objectives.

Accreditation commits the agency to a broad range of programs of direct benefit to the public as well as to programs to cope with man-made or natural disasters. Accreditation promotes community cooperation and understanding.

Accreditation requires an in-depth review of every aspect of an agency's organization, management, operations and administration including:

• Establishment of agency goals and objectives with provision for periodic updating;
• Re-evaluation of whether agency resources are being used in accordance with agency goals, objectives and mission;
• Reevaluation of agency policies and procedures especially as documented in the agency's written directives system; and
• Correction of deficiencies before they become public problems.

The accreditation standards provide norms against which agency performance can be measured and monitored over time.

• Accreditation provides the agency with a continuing flow of commission-distributed information about exemplary policies, procedures and projects.
• Accreditation provides the agency an opportunity to participate in the development of new or revised standards.
• Accreditation provides recognition that the agency's managerial and operational policies and procedures are in accord with a body of professional standards.
• Accreditation assures that agency policies and procedures are in written form and available to all agency personnel.
• Accreditation assures personnel that every aspect of the agency's personnel system is in accordance with professional standards, and that it is both fair and equitable.
• Accreditation enhances the morale of the agency by increasing the confidence of employees in the effectiveness and efficiency of their own agency.
• Accreditation promotes relationships with other neighboring law enforcement agencies, as well as prosecutors, courts, correctional agencies, and state and local government officials.
• Accreditation provides objective measures to justify decisions related to budget requests and personnel policies.
• Accreditation reduces the likelihood of vicarious liability suits against the agency.