The tennessee association of chiefs of police (TACP) will use FY24 CPD accreditation funding to is continue our momentum of increasing the number of accredited law enforcement agencies in tennessee

The Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police (TACP) was awarded a $300,000 cooperative agreement by the U.S. Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office under the Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Grants (CFDA 16.710) program. The funding will be used by TACP, working with partners like the Tennessee Sheriffs' Association and University of Tennessee Law Enforcement Innovation Center, to continue increasing the number of accredited law enforcement agencies in Tennessee. Key activities include revising the accreditation review process, providing training and technical assistance to agencies pursuing accreditation, defraying expenses for newly accredited agencies, and implementing a sustainability strategy to maintain accreditation standards. The project aims to strengthen community-law enforcement relationships through developing model policies, procedures, and training to enhance law enforcement services and professionalism across the state.

Working with our partners with the tennessee sherif's association (TSA), the law enforcement accreditation coalition of tennessee (LEACT), and the university of tennessee law enforcement innovation center (LEIC), TACP will continue its aggressive initiatives baed on marketing research, sound project management, and articulated deliverables to ensure project success. A sustainability strategy to continue growth and compliance with tennessee law enforcement accreditation (TLEA) standards is a key component of this project's long-term impact.TACP and its partners will continue revisions to the accreditation review process already in place with TLEA and strive to improve the processes for managing the oversight and assessment of all law enforcement agencies (LEAS) applying for accreditation, including city, county, state, airport, and higher education. The TACP professsional standards committee is a long-standing, well-respected entity tasked with the oversight and management of guiding LEAS through the accreditation process and preparing them for their final hearing. The hearing committee meets with each agency in the final step of the accreditation process to review compliance with accreditation mandates and approve and/or identify areas in need of improvement. Assessors and accreditation managers from both TACP and TSA are trained by members of LEACT and UT-LEIC using mixed modality training platforms to extend training and technical assistance to the most remote areas of tennessee. Assessments will continue to identify challenges and hurdles LEAS face while working toward achieving accreditation through the TLEA program. Grand funds will assist in defraying expenses for newly accredited agencies; training and associated travel. Survey results will measure the value of the training and technical assistance delivered to provide a continuous improvement process for outreach and customer service. Additionally, non-accredited law enforcement agencies, elected officials, and local an state leaders will be provided detailed information regarding the benefits of accreditation and its relation to improving law enforcement servcies and community connections. A sustainable and standardized system for accredited agencies to maintain required criteria will be constantly reviewed and updated by powerdms records management system to provide an uninterrupted continuation of access to the best practices included in the accreditation standards adopted by TLEA. The project's goals are to continue to increase the number of accredited LEAS in tennessee which will strenghen the relationships between communities and law enforcement officers through developing model policies, procedures and training.