PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Item No.        4a 
Date of Meeting    January 24, 2011 
DATE:    January 12, 2012 
TO:      Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:    Port of Seattle Police Chief Colleen Wilson 
SUBJECT:  Special Order of Business: Recognition of the Port of Seattle Police Department
for Earning National Accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law
Enforcement Agencies 
BACKGROUND: 
The Port of Seattle Police Department (POSPD) has earned the prestigious National
Accreditation credential from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies
(CALEA), considered the "gold standard" in public safety accreditation. 
Our department is only the second Airport/Seaport police agency in the nation to earn such an
honor. The accreditation process, generally a three-year project, was accomplished in an
accelerated timeline of 18 months to be awarded during the Port's Centennial Celebration. The
culmination of this preparation was an on-site assessment by an international team of police
professionals which vigorously reviewed 177 standards representing the contemporary industry
standard for law enforcement to ensure compliance. 
National accreditation by CALEA is recognition of law enforcement professional excellence,
attained by only two percent of police agencies nationwide. In Washington State, just 16 out of
269 law enforcement agencies are nationally accredited, less than one percent. 
The goals of accreditation are to: 
Strengthen crime prevention and control capabilities; 
Formalize essential management procedures; 
Establish fair and nondiscriminatory personnel practices; 
Improve service delivery; 
Solidify interagency cooperation and coordination; and

COMMISSION AGENDA 
T. Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
January 12, 2012 
Page 2 
Increase community and staff confidence in the agency. 
Accreditation heightens accountability for our department by requiring: 
Development of a comprehensive, uniform, and well thought-out set of written directives
to attain our administrative and operational goals, and provide direction to our personnel; 
Reports and analyses necessary to make fact-based, informed management decisions; 
Preparedness programs in place to address natural disasters or man-made critical
incidents; 
Improvement of our agency's relationship with the community; 
Standards that clearly define authority, performance, and responsibilities; 
Demonstration of compliance with internationally recognized standards for law
enforcement to limit and reduce an agency's exposure to liability and risk; and 
An agency's pursuit of professional excellence. 
The CALEA assessment report (attached) noted in its summary, "The agency is very
professional and oriented toward responsible law enforcement practices.  Department personnel
strive to be approachable and to serve the public in a helpful and considerate manner." 
Special recognition is appropriate for the Accreditation Manager, Sergeant Jim Tuttle, and his
capable accreditation team of Kathy Dowell and Tom Nesko, without whose dedication and
drive none of this would be possible. 
The POSPD appreciates Chief Executive Officer Yoshitani's ongoing support for the
accreditation effort, and he attended our CALEA Commission review with us. The POSPD also
appreciates the Commission's interest in and support of the department's efforts to excel. Such
support is critical to continued accreditation and our journey to become the nation's finest port
police. 
Chief Linda Pillo, from the Bellevue Police Department, will present the POSPD with its award.
Chief Pillo was recently named as a CALEA Commissioner, one of only 20 in the organization.
As such, she is our region's CALEA representative, and this will be her first presentation as a
CALEA Commissioner. 
OTHER DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SPECIAL ORDER: 
CALEA Certificate of National Accreditation 
CALEA Assessment Report for the Port of Seattle Police Department