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Through CALEA (the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies), <br />our Police Department will also receive national recognition and certification. This process <br />involves ahands-on review of more than 400 standards of compliance. Daring the next three <br />years we will update our duty manual and learn from best practices in use by departments around <br />the world. Accreditation will involve on-site inspection of our facilities and continuous testing. <br />CALEA dovetails nicely with our commitment to training. We have been named a regional <br />training site far quarterly Police Executive Leadership Academy classes. PELA draws its <br />structure from proven personnel management theory which is tailored to address police issues <br />and techniques. It gives supervisors the tools they need to lead the next generation of law <br />enforcement. Over forty South Bend officers have aheady been trained, with seventeen mare in <br />classes now. Continuous training is essential to maintaining the level of professionalism and <br />performance that we expect from our oi~icers. Last year our police department employees <br />participated in over 20,000 hours of training. This included sessions on the use of Personal <br />Protective Equipment, Verbal Judo, Use of Force, Taser and Tools for Tolerance. Two other <br />areas of emphasis are proficiency with firearms and emergency vehicle operations. Our <br />Regional Training Academy provides training to 33 area police departments, in addition to our <br />own. One reason we have been able to step up <br />`~ our training efforts is the new headquarters <br />- -~ facility which was rededicated on May 19, <br />2005. This building provides efficient work <br />space and is a model training facility with an <br />indoor shooting range, large classrooms and <br />conference spaces. It will serve the department <br />and the community well for many years into the <br />future. <br />In addition to training it is important to provide proper equipment, especially as we <br />prepare far the possibility of natural disasters or terrorist incidents. Our department has acquired <br />a technologically advanced Bomb Truck and a Bomb Disposal Robot. With Homeland Security <br />funds we have ordered a Total Containment Vehicle which will allow for the safe transportation <br />of WMD devices without any release of chemical or biological agents into the environment. <br />This will be one of only two such vehicles in the state. Our officers who would respond to such <br />A-3 <br />